Filum Fatalis
by inmemoryoftheMasterRapper
Summary: Threads and clothes go well together. In the case of a prideful boy and a gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been drawing and pulling them close, no matter how much others have tried to pull them apart. Part of the "Dulcis Venemum" series.
1. Initium

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary: **_Threads have always been used to sew and patch clothes together. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **I'm back~! 8D Here's the sequel—or in this case, _pre_quel—of Dulcis Venemum like I promised. Damn, I can't get over this pairing. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One: Initium<strong>

* * *

><p>"I still wonder where all of the food you eat goes in that iron board body of yours."<p>

"Insulting me again."

It was a lazy, rainy and gloomy afternoon in the heart of Tokyo. It was one of those days that Neuro could never stand. The droplets from the sky would get his hair wet and his mood would get sour, he had said once to a blinking Yako. And she had only laughed back then.

They were in junior high school now. They had entered the same school together. He insisted that someone as "small and insignificant as a bug like her" should always be by his side to prevent further deterioration of the human intelligence—whatever that means. Yako had complied to his wishes—an act that she always questioned why. Why does she always follow what he commands from her? Why doesn't she feel a bit of resentment for him?

"Oh! I want some ice cream! Neuro! Would you like one?"

"No, thanks. I don't want to get as fat as a pig like you."

...She wondered when her questions would be answered.

She guessed they will never be answered.

"Hmph."

He followed her inside one of the convenience stores they had passed by, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head in order to make his hair dry somehow. His eyes trailed where she ran off to—to the ice cream section.

He sighed.

"Oh, um—I think I might need another one. Neuro! What flavor would you like?"

She really wanted him to eat. How thoughtful of her.

"Anything you want."

"All right. Um. How about pistachio-flavored ice cream? Or cookies and cream? Or rocky road? Or mint? Or—"

"Just make sure whatever you buy, you have enough money to buy them. I won't be paying for it."

She whined and pouted as she looked at her thin wallet.

"I have enough to buy three."

"..."

She then brightened up as she took three containers of ice cream and placed them on the counter—one rocky road, one strawberry and one mint.

"You really are a glutton, Piglet."

"Oh, shut up."

She bought her tubs of ice cream as Neuro watched her from behind, his gaze as calculating as they had always been. He was now taller than her by nine inches; Yako remained five foot flat in the recent months. And no, Neuro did not observe that carefully.

He was just watching her, that's all.

* * *

><p>"Yako! Are you ready for the exams next week?"<p>

"...Not really."

The brown-haired girl, Kanae, scoffed and put her arms akimbo, glaring straight at Yako, "You need to pass this test, Yako! Do you know that? It's almost the end of the term! Nougami-_san_, could you please tell her to study before she fails—_again_?"

The aforementioned 15-year-old whipped his head to the girl's direction, and Yako flinched as she saw that wide-eyed and smiling face.

Yako spluttered her words at her best friend, her hands waving frantically in front of her face, "Kanae-_chan_, I really think I can pass this one—"

"No. You need help and I know he can help you! He's not the overall top student in the whole school for nothing!"

Oh nononono—She can't have that. If Neuro were to—to—_teach her (Why does that sound foreign to me?)—_then all of her bones might get pulverized at the end of the week from whatever he might plan to do to her!

...She can't have that.

"But he might be busy and all and—"

A large hand grabbed the top of her head, and Yako fought her will not to cry there and then.

"Nonsense! I always have time to teach my little kitten!"

Yako's eye twitched at the new name.

Even after all these years since their elementary days, he had yet to grow out of his name-calling habit.

And it seems like Yako remained as Neuro's favorite "pet" to humiliate through name calling.

...Not that he had other friends to humiliate with.

"See? I told you he can do it! Nougami-_san_, please teach her well. I know Yako can be a klutz and a freeloader for food most of the time, but she's really nice!" she bowed.

"...Thanks for the unnecessary description, Kanae-_chan._"

The vicegrip on her head tightened even more, and the poor girl was close to tears while Neuro smiled wide.

"Don't worry, I'll teach her the basics from square one until she'll master everything!"

The high chirp of his voice at the end of his sentence promised a foreboding feeling in her gut—

—and she made a grave mistake when she turned around to look at his face.

"I'll take care of you, Yako!"

...That smiling and innocent-looking face could not mean well.

* * *

><p>"That's wrong, stupid. Do it again."<p>

"...B-but! I've been doing this problem for the past hour! Can we take a break?"

"You dare order me around, you insignificant little mite?"

"That was a request—"

"...I'll give you a break when you finish that."

Yako sighed.

"All right."

Just as her pen made contact on the paper riddled with scribbles and crude erasures—huffing as she did so—she felt a socked foot pressing firmly on top of her head.

...Whoever was in charge of the heavens must have had a grudge her.

"N-Neuro..."

"What is it, sawdust?"

"...I can't concentrate if you're grinding your foot on me..."

"It makes no difference even if I don't grind my foot on your empty head."

Yako whined as she wrote on the paper once again.

And a knock came at the door.

"Yako?"

"Mother?"

"I brought you some snacks! Could you please open the door?"

"Um, Neuro, could you—"

"Do it yourself."

She pouted and struggled to remove the offending foot from her head and walked towards the door, unmindful of her ruffled hair. She glanced back at her long-time classmate, and surely, just as she expected, that blank look was on his face, his middle finger pointing at her face for some reason.

She chose to ignore it as she opened the door.

"Yako, what took you so long, my arms are about to fall off!"

"...Mother, your arms won't fall off. And um—did you make those?"

"Nope. Sonobe did, although I _did_ want to try my hand on making these onigiri once and—"

"Thanks, Mother!"

And before Haruka could say something about food-making and the unkempt hair her daughter donned, the door was silently shut, not before hearing Yako's cries of joy upon eating.

"...I hope she doesn't get fat."

* * *

><p>The study routine continued on. Everyday, Neuro would come over at Yako's house―invited or not―and would tutor her about different subjects, the most time they spent being on the subject of mathematics. Yako would tolerate his Spartan way of teaching—<em>Redo the whole problem again or you'll get a whip from my belt... or maybe a spanking would do better!<em>—and Neuro would smile at her misery.

She was already used to it.

* * *

><p>"Neuro! I passed!"<p>

The tall blond was walking down the corridor when he heard her holler out his name―rather happily, too. Some of the students and teachers looked at the broadly grinning girl running towards him.

He smiled―for some reason or another.

"You did?" he asked coolly as he regarded her heaving form. In truth, he had heard from one of Yako's friends (_Kana-something, I think_) that she had passed. He wanted to see for himself. And upon seeing the girl now―well...

All that eating must have finally taken its toll on those thighs, he mused with a smirk.

Yako heaved another deep breath and straightened herself with a wide smile as soon as she recovered her breathing. Without hesitation, she took out all of her tests from her bag, that wide smile never leaving her lips as she did so, "Yes! See? I passed them all!"

Amused―and proud―dark green eyes wandered over the slightly crumpled papers in her small hands, his wide smile widening even more as his gaze glanced on each subject paper―she passed them all with flying colors.

"I see you have finally grown a little bit of a brain, Piglet."

Yako laughed―his "piglet" comment completely ignored. It was his way of showing that he was proud of her (as what she observed for the past few years)―that wide smile and that deep voice and those bright obsidian-jade eyes told her so.

"Now you can treat me just as you promised the other day!" she declared with a smile as she neatly folded her tests and returned them to her bag. Nothing can ruin her mood today—!

"...Meh. I think I'll pass."

―except for that.

"What? Why!"

Oh, how he loved seeing her getting all riled up.

He simply turned his back to her, and he smiled as he walked away―knowing that she will follow him wherever he may go.

And as he predicted, he heard the tap, tap, tap of her miniscule feet and the squeaky sound that was her voice.

"Neuro! Wait for me!"

The teen only smiled.

* * *

><p>"—And then there was this huge jar of chocolate bars on the newly-opened candy shop near the station and I wanted to buy them but they were so expensive and I had no money so I could only stare at them from the window outside! It was cruel!"<p>

"Hn."

"And so I went home with no food."

"Hn. And you're telling this to me because...?"

She pouted.

Yako had insisted that Neuro should come over to her house, simply because she felt bored, and it was a Saturday—that was what she told him, at least. Her mother was away on a business trip. Her father was on Hokkaido doing his latest building project. And Kanae was away with her friends for one of those "group dates"—and she refused to join in such events. No, it's not like she needed his company. Nope. She was his only friend, after all—at least, that's what she repeatedly told herself.

She bit her lip and averted her eyes from that cold stare—she was used to it.

The temperature in her room suddenly felt warmer than it had been a few seconds ago.

Neuro tilted his head, his eyes never leaving her form.

In his point of view, his little maggot was becoming a bit round in the face.

...He could fix that.

"Owowowowowow! Myuuro! That hurtsh!"

He only grinned as he stretched her cheeks, enjoying the sounds of her painful cries.

"Myuurooo!"

He sighed, and—getting bored of his torture—let go of her.

The aforementioned man grinned from ear to ear. He loved hearing his name out of her plump lips. Whether it be the way she voiced his name out in a cheerful manner or in a painful one (like the one she's doing now), he always loved to hear his name being called by his "little maggot-faced piglet".

"Myuurooo―"

And even if she butchered the way his name's being pronounced, he didn't mind much. He often wondered why.

"I can't feel my cheeksh anymooore―"

Neuro shrugged and sighed. Growing tired of giving her punishment (for no reason at all), he roughly let go of her swollen cheeks. He reveled at her (predictable) reaction―those tiny (and unnecessary) tears threatening to fall from her (totally dull) hazel eyes, her (too bony) candle-like hands trying to soothe the seemingly searing pain on her abused face (she was entirely sure red welts will appear again), her scrunching and stretching of her now chapped lips, her repeated gulping and swallowing to let her saliva moisten the insides of her mouth again, and the half-hearted glare she was sending at him as she did all of those little quirks of hers.

He loved it all―basking in her undivided attention. He would never admit it to her, though.

"Snail. I want something to do. It's getting boring in this place."

As he expected, regardless of his torture and abuse he constantly throws at her person, her eyes widened with what he could only assume as excitement―_that_, he could not fathom as to why she was excited. She suddenly seemed to recover fully, the pain he (happily) inflicted on her face completely forgotten as she looked at him without that previously fiery rage she had on her eyes moments prior. Hence, he grinned and asked her.

"Are you that excited to be able to spend your insignificant and worthless time with my magnificent and superior self, you worm?"

Yako only beamed awkwardly, her pearly teeth being shown to him as she scratched her head—the face of stupidity, he concluded.

Yes, he always basked in her undivided attention. It belonged to him and him alone.

He would never let anyone lay a filthy finger on her.

Hm.

He was becoming a bit _too _accustomed to her.

* * *

><p>"Neuro, look! Hurry!"<p>

"For a piglet, you sure run fast when it comes to food."

He watched her hop and run as he walked calmly ten steps behind her. He chuckled as he saw her bump into a woman.

_The clumsy louse. _

He saw her stammer and smile through a hasty apology and multiple bowings of her head as she did so―those reddened cheeks were still on her white skin, Neuro observed―and trudged along the sidewalk, her brown eyes looking back at Neuro once with a smile, making him to briskly walk his way just to catch up to her.

"Neuro, hurry!" she gleefully said as she waved him over, and she entered the store she was talking about since they left Yako's house about half an hour ago.

He looked at the name of the store.

_"Omocha Shop." _

A toy store?

He looked at Yako once again, wondering what could she like in this kind of place. The brown-haired little mouse of his was now running along the aisles of toys like a child―Neuro felt like he had to spank her for bumping into another woman _again_. Really, there should be a limit to her stupidity. Then again―

It was her stupidity that had caught Neuro's attention from the start, at least, that's what he repeatedly told himself.

"Neuro! Look!"

With his hands poised coolly inside the pockets of his jeans, he walked over to where she was, those wide eyes almost twinkling at her newfound discovery.

"What's so nice about a toy shop, you filthy piglet?" he asked as soon as he was standing beside her, his eyes ignoring the shocked faces of the nearby mothers and children alike. It only took one glare at those gaping faces for them to gulp and walk away hurriedly, making Neuro grin in victory.

Yako, oblivious to the wide-eyed stares of the shocked mothers and little children alike (_That poor girl didn't even feel embarrassed!_), only insistently tugged at Neuro's shirt sleeve with barely hidden excitement, that wide smile stuck on her (still) slightly reddened face as she looked at him.

"Look at this, Neuro!" she chirped as she held out a large white box with little pieces of white cardboard on a plain white background.

It was his personal favorite pasttime.

"I heard this is really hard to solve because you don't have a pattern to follow! But since I know you love challenges, and I know you love puzzles, this will be a piece of cake to you!" and she smiled―quite proudly, might he add―at him.

They were white puzzles―puzzles with no backgrounds or canvases, hence, they have no patterns or clues to follow, making it difficult for the puzzle solver to put the pieces together. The only thing they could at least begin with was the pieces belonging to the edges of the board. He had been trying to find one―one that was in a huge board with little pieces of puzzle, so it would be harder to solve than those with big pieces―but he couldn't find a store that sold them near his area.

And then she had found one.

He didn't even tell her (not even once) that he wanted one.

So how could she know?

He grinned despite trying to find the answer to his question―his two little fang-like teeth almost gleaming as his lips stretched into a very wide smile. His eyes looked at the huge puzzle board, and back at the still smiling Yako.

He was proud of her―very, _very _proud of her.

"How did you know?" he asked, his smile still wide as he eyed her, his dark green eyes almost dancing in delight at the girl's surprise.

"You always said you needed something other than reading mystery novels and solving sudoku and crossword puzzles to keep your knowledge and sanity intact, so I thought this might be good! So I... kind of searched the different stores in town for something you might like. Tee hee!"

Neuro raised an eyebrow, his vague way of saying, 'Elaborate it, you worm.'

When the 15-year-old girl only blinked, Neuro only smirked.

And as Yako expected, his face inched closer to hers, and she instinctively leaned her head away from that predatory smile.

"...You have been observing me closely, haven't you, Yako?"

He hit the nail on the head—just as Yako knew he would.

Her gaze wavered at those pride-filled eyes, and she looked away as she spoke—and stammered.

"We've known each other for eight years. Of course I would know your quirks. I don't need further observation to know what you would like."

His smile never faltered. Instead, hearing those words come out of her lips made his smile even wider than before. And before she knew it, he leaned even closer to her face, his baritone voice reverberating in her ears.

"It seems that I have found myself a great slave. Keep up the good work, Yako. Keep it up―"

She gasped as his lips hovered near her ear, his sharp intake of breath sending shivers to her spine.

"―for you will be my wife someday."

And Katsuragi Yako was sure that she felt her heart stop beating altogether.

* * *

><p>"This should go here. And this piece should go... there. This one should be in the middle."<p>

The ashen blond male sat cross-legged on the floor, that wide grin never leaving his face, both of his hands holding two little pieces of the puzzle that Yako had given him a few hours ago. Nothing could dampen his mood since he said those words to her.

"Heh. That ragdoll of mine looked even more stupid when I said that to her. Bahaha!"

Glassy and amber eyes as wide as an owl's. Roseate-colored cheeks on milky white skin. Glossed and carnation-hued lips formed in a tiny, little circle. That bubblegum pink dart of tongue almost babbling incoherently. Dainty little nose hardly breathing in at his words. Those tiny, little ears reddened by his gaze. That squeaky and gentle little voice that couldn't utter a single word in his lush green stare.

He loved them all. Those little quirks of hers. The unconsciously-made actions that she does everyday. That piercing and knowing look. Her whines and pleas for help―her knowing that it would only be through him that she could be saved. Her awkward little smile after he makes a snide remark towards the shape(lessness) of her body. Her miniscule and thin little fingers that would pry their way to his hand grinding atop of her utterly mussed hair, only ending in vain as he would, instead, bite her forehead with a loud "chomp".

Her reactions were his. Those unnoticeable quirks of her were his. That awkward laugh and that sheepish smile were his. Those fragile and bendable and thin fingers were his. Everything that belonged to her were his. It was what he decided a long time ago since they met.

He laughed. In the presence of no one, he laughed. And as he put another white piece of a puzzle on its respective place on the board, he chewed on a stick of licorice, courtesy of his precious little maggot.

"...Done."

As soon as the last piece was placed, he dialed on his phone, and called a number he knew all too well.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you're finished? I just gave that to you after we ate that chocolate and vanilla-sprinkled triple chocolate ice cream! And that was only an hour ago!"<p>

_"Correction. _You_ ate that chocolate and vanilla-sprinkled triple chocolate ice cream. I only watched you stupidly wolfing down the said ice cream like the stupid and greedy pig that you are, leaving me with nothing to eat but thin smears of ice cream on your drool-slicked plate―" __  
><em>  
>"Don't talk as if you have never eaten for your entire life! And I didn't drool on the plate! And you ate the strawberry pocky!"<p>

_"...You won't admit it...?" __  
><em>  
>"I won't admit anything for something that I didn't do!"<p>

_"..."_

"...Neuro?"

_"...I'll come over, you ungrateful leech." __  
><em>  
>"Wh-wha―"<p>

_"Expect me to be there within three minutes." __  
><em>  
>"Wha-wha―bu—"<p>

_"Stop babbling like a fish. You already look like one." __  
><em>  
>"Wha-hey! I'm a goldfish, at least!"<p>

_"I know you're a janitor fish. That bottomless mouth of yours sticking like tar on the filthy tank walls―" __  
><em>  
>"Neuro!"<p>

_"Heh." __  
><em>  
>There was a distinct sound of a huff on the other end of the line, and he was sure that Yako puffed her cheeks like a bubble.<p>

_"Remember not to break your promise, Maggot." __  
><em>  
>"What promise? I didn't―oh. That."<p>

She could hear a laugh, and Yako could almost see that wide and malicious smile on his face.

"_Yes. _That._ I'm quite sure you remember it―unless that useless and empty brain of yours had finally broken itself beyond repair. Oh wait. It already had!" _

She pouted and sighed upon his words. She was used to it, though. She knew he didn't actually mean any of that―or so she assumed to herself every single day.

She could hear a deep rumble of a laugh, and Yako could almost picture in her mind what he might have looked like at that moment on the other end of the line—that large palm and those spidery fingers covering his wide and malicious-like smile, those proud and mirth-filled black-green eyes looking at her with what Yako could only assume as amusement.

She had been with him for too long, so much that whatever things he uttered between those constantly smiling lips, she could see with her mind's eye just what he was doing.

And then―

"...You're already at the door now, aren't you?"

He chuckled.

_"Shall I let myself in?" __  
><em>  
>"I couldn't do anything even if I say no. You'd always force yourself in my life no matter how much I wanted you to go."<p>

_"Of course." __  
><em>  
>"Come in."<p>

_"Thank you." __  
><em>  
>It was one of those rare times that Yako could almost think of Neuro as a gentleman. Almost.<p>

With a small smile, she looked at her bedroom door, and sure enough, the knob clicked and Neuro let himself in, his phone clutched on one hand, the puzzle box on the other. And that proud smile remained consistently dancing on his thin lips as he walked inside her room.

"Did you lock the door?" was her greeting. No need for formalities now, right?

"Of course I did, you numbskull. I wouldn't risk having a cat burglar sneaking in this house with me in it, now, would I?" he said with a chuckle as he put the box filled with the completed puzzle in front of the girl, his phone now hidden within the confines of his pocket. Yako had removed the pieces earlier in front of Neuro―to prevent him from cheating, she reasoned. But she knew him better than to cheat on his favorite pasttime.

"...You really did finish it," she said flatly, the tone of her voice almost disappointed at his achievement. Of course he would finish it in record time, no matter what the consequences are. That's just how he is.

Earlier, right before they parted their ways to their respective homes, they made a deal. Should Neuro cannot finish the puzzle by tomorrow, he'd have to treat Yako for food for the whole week. But, should _he_be the one to win―the one who'd finish the puzzle before tomorrow―he'd make Yako his slave for the whole week, and she would have to obey whatever he wanted and needed with no complaints.

As expected by Yako, Neuro won.

She sighed.

"What's with that long sigh? Are you _that _disappointed that you didn't win?" he asked as he walked over to her bed and sat on the mattress. It seemed that she had acquired a western-style bed within the past two months, it wasn't there the last time he came. He was a bit saddened by the fact that he couldn't sleep on the futon anymore whenever he would stay over. Now, there'd be no reason for him to hog all the blankets and let her freeze to death―it was his plan to let her come to him, willingly or not. She would pout and whine for him to give him a blanket, and he would turn a deaf ear with a smile; she would give up, and she'd have to crawl (as he suggested every time) for her to cuddle by his side to keep herself warm. It was a miracle that no one walked in on them during those times. He was sly like that, it seemed, for his plan always worked.

He sat on the bed with his legs crossed and his amused eyes were very much trained on her pitiful expression―and no, he was not looking at that bit of white cloth with a pink ribbon peeking from the shadows beneath her skirt.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed. There goes my food..." she sighed once again, her fist cradling her chin, one elbow propped on her knee. Neuro laughed.

"You should know by now that I always win, Yako. It has never been the other way around; it never has and never will be," a lazy smile graced his lips as he regarded her coolly, his devious mind gears now working on how to claim his prize for winning the bet.

The girl's pout turned into a (tired) smile, her wide brown eyes staring at him with what Neuro assumed as pride.

"It's always you who wins, no matter what, isn't it? And for that, I admit defeat," and she bowed, her hands placed flatly beside her, her forehead meeting the floor in a light thud―a kowtow.

And Neuro grinned widely, his dark green eyes memorizing each detail of her body greedily. Yes, he was amused―very, _very _much amused.

"It's about time you bow your head to me, ragdoll."

Yako was sure, as her eyes were still trained on the floor, that she heard Neuro moan―on what reason, she could never tell.

"Rise, Yako."

And to rise her head from the floor she did.

"Starting today, you're now my personal slave. You're mine and mine alone to give―which I'll never do, of course," and that laidback smile was back, along with those warm green eyes.

It seemed that he'd only smile like that during the night, she concluded. He must have been always felt the calm of the night, as shown on those eyes.

She frowned.

"Since when did I become your slave?"

"Since the day you met me, you fool," he smiled at her misery.

She glared at him.

He pointed at her with his socked foot, that devious smile stuck on his face as he looked at her.

"Now, lick my feet."

Her reaction was what he expected.

"No way!"

* * *

><p>Most school days are a blur to her recent bout of torture. It was only her second day of being Neuro's slave (<em>When was I <em>not_ his slave, anyway? And I just bought him a new pair of shoes yesterday! What does he want with seven pairs of shoes? Does he have a shoe fetish that I didn't know about?_), and his treatment on her poor self was already taking its toll on her body.

"Yako! Let's eat together at lunch break! We haven't done that since our exams!" Kanae piped happily as she rummaged through her bag. It was just a few minutes away from their first class, and idly, she felt like she was not being the best friend she had once been. She often wondered why. Kanae was looking at her friend with a wide smile when she saw a familiar mop of blond and black suddenly obscuring her line of vision.

"Nougami-_san_!"

His name being called was ignored in favor of looking at his favorite, favorite toy.

"Yako! You promised me the other day you'll have lunch with me for the rest of the week, right?" he asked, rather bubbly, too—if it weren't for that mischievous look in his eyes as he stared at the brown-eyed girl. Kanae couldn't see much of his expression, his back was facing her.

"Uh, yeah—"

"Good! So you don't have to make any plans with others, all right?"

"All ri—"

"Good!"

"Um, Nougami-_san—_"

With that, he turned around, his eyes wide and his pointed teeth slightly bared, and Kanae wondered how her best friend managed to be friends with him. She assumed it was because of his good looks and that "bad boy" vibe. She never really had the time to ask what Yako's tastes were when it comes to men.

"Oh! Hello, Yako's friend!"

Kanae sighed. What's up with him always forgetting her name? It's just a mere three syllables away from pronouncing it! And he had never even once forgotten to utter Yako's name!

Yako gulped, clearly not liking the way he's blocking her view on talking to her friend, "Um, Neuro. Could you please move? I can't talk to her while you're—"

He turned to her, his eyes gleaming with delight, "You said something, kitten?"

Yako looked away. Whenever he was in his mood for his sadism (which happens every single day when they're alone), he would call her that. His kitten. His ragdoll kitten. His submissive, favorite little ragdoll kitten.

She suddenly felt the upcoming extent of today's punishment.

* * *

><p>A shuffle of movement. A soft sigh.<p>

"Neuro, you didn't have to be that rude."

"Hmph. She was trying to take you away from my precious time. I wouldn't have that."

"Well, in any case, I don't see a reason for you to do this to me."

"Hm? Do what? What _ever_ are you talking about, leech?"

"I'm talking about _this._"

Neuro looked over his shoulder, his newly-bought mystery novel (courtesy of Yako's allowance) in one hand, and the end of a chain on the other.

Nevertheless, Yako—who was sitting on the floor with a red collar around her neck—was not amused.

"Why, it's for your punishment for trying to talk back at me this morning in the presence of your friend."

"I didn't even do anything!"

"Precisely. You didn't do anything."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing much."

"And what's with this collar and chain! Where on earth did you get this, anyway?"

"...From your wallet."

She gasped in horror.

"Neuro!"

"Heh."

* * *

><p>It was now March. The time of spring and of cherry blossoms fluttering in the cool air of the day. The time where cries of joy and of sadness would meld together in the gatherings of school institutions.<p>

It was now graduation day.

"Neuro! Congratulations!"

"Heh. You know I'd have the top place every time."

Yako chuckled, her dainty hand covering her lips, "Yes, yes I know."

Yako looked at her classmate and her friend. He became quite tall in a short amount of time during their junior high days. Though, she (and the other prominent upperclassmen) had always asked him why he refused to join the basketball club―his answer had always been somewhere along the lines of, "I'd rather keep to myself and read a boring book about fishes under the shade of a tree than to look stupid while sweating out my armpits all the while trying to chase an orange ball and smelling like some rotten piece of trash while running. Disgusting." His words.

His height was currently five feet and nine inches―and he wasn't even 18 yet! And Yako had to suffer craning her neck upwards just to look at him in the eye when talking to him. Her height was still five feet flat.

She whined, and it was noticed by the tall teenager.

"Something wrong, louse?"

She whined again. That name-calling of his will never stop, will it?

"No. Nothing's wrong―"

"You just sighed, worm. It means that something's wrong with that non-exsistent intellect of yours," he crossed his arms as they walked towards the back building of the school, their feet meeting the tiles as they plopped down on the nearby steps. Over the years, it became their sanctuary during the times when they would get themselves caught in the rain during break time. Yako had to drag him away from the foul weather. Neuro had always hated the rain, after all.

Yako's mother and father were at the school gates, chatting their time away with other overjoyed parents―_My daughter finally graduated! Oh, joy!_―and Yako had snuck away (with Neuro, for some reason) while they talked.

They always seemed to enjoy letting their daughter be the center of attention―and she didn't like it at all. She already had her hands full of Neuro's attention, thank you very much. The green-eyed man had only laughed at her predicament, clearly enjoying her time of woe.

"I'm just thinking that I might never grow an inch taller than I am now."

"And what makes you think that?"

She shrugged her shoulders and a shy smile made itself present on her face.

"I dunno. Intuition, I guess?" she laughed.

He snorted.

"You women and your strange instincts."

She didn't reply.

Neuro looked at her at the corner of his ever observant eye, taking in her strained smile and stiff shoulders as a cue to act.

And to act he did.

"Owowowow―Neuro! Not again!"

He only barked a laugh as he grinded his fist on her head, her neck trapped within the confines of his lean arm. Needless to say, his strength had grown over time, much to Yako's dismay.

_Why, thank you, puberty. __  
><em>  
>Her thoughts of sarcasm were cut short as she heard her mother call out her name.<p>

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet, her hands trying to pry Neuro's painful knuckles away from her scalp as she groaned.

Trust him to make everything painful for her poor body.

"We're here, Mother!" she squeaked as she finally removed his hands away from her abused scalp. Ignoring the few strands of hair that came along with his death grip, she then dragged Neuro by the hand, away from the stairs, and the latter complied willingly―surprisingly so.

And Neuro―having the mischievous mind of an imp―smirked as he suddenly had the idea to let go of Yako's hand, causing the girl to jerk her head to look at him and, as Neuro expected, making her fall on her bottom.

Neuro's eyes didn't fail to see the short flash of blue polka dots underneath her skirt.

He smiled blankly.

"Why'd you do that for!"

And she heard the rush of footsteps nearby as she looked at him―he only smirked.

"Neur―"

When the blond could distinctly hear voices and footsteps, he acted according to his plan.

He lifted her up―scooped her up in his arms like his newly-wed bride―just as Yako's parents (along with the other members of the parents' association committee) walked in on them, and they saw his act of "gallantry."

Nevertheless, Yako wanted to bury her head in shame upon landing her eyes on her parents, and she did just as so, burying her head in the crook of his neck (_It was quite warm_, she thought)―Neuro smiled all the while as he walked towards the wide-eyed parents.

"She tripped, Katsuragi-_san_," he said happily, and mustered his kindest face to them.

And the parents immediately "aww"-ed.

And―as the green-eyed male predicted―the comments ensued, adding more fuel to the fire (or in Yako's case, it added more fire to her now beet red cheeks).

"What a gentleman!"

"And he's quite handsome, too!"

"He must be a foreigner!"

"And he's tall!"

"Oh, Haruka-_san_, he's _perfect_!"

"I once heard from my daughter that he's quite protective of her―your daughter is so lucky to have him!"

And Yako's father (just _had _to) butt in the cooing mothers.

"I know! That's why I want him to be my son-in-law in the future!"

And they laughed.

Yako didn't face them―she wouldn't. No. Not after what he did―and what they said (_Assumed!_).

She then felt a soft rumble from his throat―_Since when did his voice become so deep?_―and his smile never faltered. The eyes of both Yako's parents and the other parents were fixated upon the chestnut-haired girl hiding her face from view.

And she could feel those familiar obsidian-jade eyes on her face again.

Yako only grumbled under her breath.

"Hm? What's that, Yako?" he asked sweetly―and it made her blanch upon hearing the tone of his voice.

"I can walk on my own now, thank you very m―"

"Oh, nonsense! You just tripped! That means your ankles must have gotten weak from sitting so long during the ceremony!"

For further emphasis, he hoisted her even closer to his chest (making sure he was covering the pleats of her skirt as to not make her feel a draft), making her squeak. Her cheeks reddened even more.

Katsuragi Seiichi and Haruka only laughed.

"Oh, come now, Yako! Don't be shy! You two already knew each other since you were young!" piped her mother with a laugh.

A parent—a mother—gasped, and her eyes widened at Haruka's words, "Really? You mean they're childhood friends?"

"Yes!"

"Oh! Then that must mean that this fine young man here is already taken—oh my. I think I have to tell my daughter that. You see, she seems to have a crush on him."

"Oh dear."

"I guess this means that your daughter's waiting for his first move?"

"Of course! Well, if you ask me, _I_ think they fell in love at first sight—"

And Yako whipped her head to her mother, the distinctive "crack" of her neck noticed by Neuro.

Ignoring the feeling of flames seemingly licking her rose-tinged cheeks, she huffed, her eyes almost twitching as she spoke, "Mother! Please don't talk like that as if we're not here!"

The blond man laughed again, shaking Yako slightly in his arms, "Oh, Yako. Silly, silly Yako. You know you don't mind—"

Yako's eye twitched.

"Don't even start with your misleading words, you—"

She heard her father gasp in shock, and she pointed his finger at his daughter, "Y-Yako! Don't speak like that towards your savio—"

"He's not my savior!"

"Wh-why—"

"Oh, hush, dear. Our child is just shy to admit it!"

"Mother!"

Neuro silently watched the exchange between daughter and parents, his smile wide and kind, and his eyes large and clear for them to see. He looked at his little maggot's face—her flushed cheeks were starting to look like tomatoes.

Perfect.

"Katsuragi-_san_, please don't embarrass Yako any further. She must still be feeling upset over her earlier fall!"

The parents almost cooed.

"See, Yako? He's so kind! Be a sweetie for him! It's the least you can do for him after taking care of you for so long whenever we're away!" said her mother. Yako glared at Neuro, her arms (still) wrapped around his neck—just in case he'd have the mind to let go of her and make her fall on her back.

Those deep emerald eyes and that face-splitting smile were almost close to laughing at her—and he was, in his mind, that is.

Yako resigned to her fate.

"...Yes, Mother."

Neuro chuckled lowly, loud enough for Yako to hear through her warm and claret-hued ears.

_You really like seeing me like this, don't you?_

That half-hearted glare she sent to his amused face was ignored in favor of smiling even wider that what he was used to.

"You're really happy at this, aren't you," she whispered, her hazel eyes observing the incessant chatter of her parents and her classmates' parents. She was sure the rumors would fly after this—whether graduation was over or not—she was sure this piece of news will spread, no thanks to the man who was carrying her.

"Of course I am," he replied, his green eyes almost twinkling in delight. "I'd love to see where this little game of mine would lead to."

In a wordless reply, Yako returned to burying her head on his shoulder, hiding her face away from the giggles of mothers and the laughs of her father.

Out of the corner of Neuro's sharp eyes, he could see a dark silhouette of green peeking from the corner of the back building.

He grinned, clutching Yako as close as he could to his person—he was sure that she felt something was amiss—not that he would tell her, of course.

_So I see you're here, you pesky fly._

The shadow disappeared after seeing it was discovered.

* * *

><p>Ten pages. TEN, long pages! 8D And this is only the first chapter, mind you. XD (It's my first time doing a ten-page pilot chapter, so...)<p> 


	2. Ornamentum

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary: **_Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **So I checked Aomi Zera's profile on the MTNN wiki and—le gasp I didn't know that she was a HE! DX Major mistake over here. During the whole time I was writing Dulcis and Filum, I imagined Zera to be a manly-looking female. I had referred to him as a she the whole time. OMG I've been trolled. Maybe if I had only read the Japanese scans, I would've known, but... Ugh. *insert mad face here* ...Never mind. I'll just fix this major mistake in one way or another. OTL Gawd, I fail at this.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two: Ornamentum<strong>

* * *

><p>Sugar, spice and everything nice. These have always been used to describe the ingredients that would make the perfect little girl. But for one tall, intelligent―and possessive―boy, these ingredients meant nothing to him.<p>

"Excuse me," he said cheerfully to a salesperson near one of the stalls in an accessory shop, his smile as sweet as candy as he slightly bowed in (mock) respect. "What do teenage girls like nowadays?"

The salesperson, a thin, middle-aged woman with large eyes and had the face of a bored and lazy person, merely shrugged as she thinned her lips at the widely smiling man.

"Meh. All those yappity hormone-filled girls nowadays only wants a good head," she grimaced. And with that, she merely turned her back on him and walked away.

Neuro raised an eyebrow, his expression thoughtful as his middle finger stroked his chin, the words she uttered had a certain ring to it.

_...That wasn't a bad idea, actually. _

But that wasn't really the answer to his question, he mused.

"Stupid old hag," he mumbled with a grunt―and the woman heard it, and yet she only glared at his back, not before muttering something about the rudeness of today's youth.

Deep green eyes scanned the shelves upon shelves of different trinkets―_I really like your stupid smile! _she had once claimed (with a stupid smile on those ketchup-stained lips, Neuro thought with a smirk) during their grade school days. His smile only widened back then, exposing his two, fanged teeth to her. They were only eight years old.

So why not give her something that would be a constant reminder for his (stupid) smile?

"Hm..."

Left and right, left and right his eyes roamed―from different colors to different accessories to beauty products, his eyes scanned them all.

And there!―he grinned as he took a pair of hairclips from the rows of hair ornaments on a rack. He found them perfect for his favorite dishrag.

"...It's not really a gift," he reassured himself with a soft voice. "It's only an obligation," he reminded himself.

No, he wasn't taking what he would give her to heart.

It was just an obligation for him, after all.

* * *

><p>"Neuro, dear! Would you like to go with us to the beach?" Haruka asked as Neuro came into view in the kitchen to get some lemonade sitting on the table. Over the years, he became more than welcome in the Katsuragi household―<em>You saved our daugther from harm's way in more ways than one! You're not a guest anymore! You'll be my baby's suitor in the future!―<em>and became a close family friend of sorts to the only child in the house, no matter how much Yako would deny it.

Katsuragi Haruka―as Neuro observed over the past few years―always seemed to have a penchant for letting people eat insane and inedible things, whether it be wood _(As substitute for sugar!)_ or cement _(For icing!)_, she would whip up whatever things she could grab and throw it on her cooking. He was surprised that no one had died in the household yet.

...Katsuragi Seiichi must have had a stomach of steel for all of her shenanigans.

...The same goes for his Little Louse.

He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

It was the time of the blistering summer heat, the air humid and arid in the atmosphere, the cicadas singing their tunes through their wings on the sanctuary of the warm trees, and the cherry blossoms fluttering their roseate petals in the summer wind. It was the time when cool refreshments became a staple on the table. It was the time when the ice cream parlors throughout the country would thrive seemingly without end―

―Yako would love that.

Neuro smiled, his eyes wide and pure as he regarded Yako's mother with the face of an angel.

"I'd love to, Katsuragi-_san_! But I think I need to ask for Yako's permission first before I act," he chirped with a child-like smile and a little shrug of his broad shoulders.

Haruka, not following his train of thought (as she was trying to bake some home-made cookies, Neuro almost shuddered), glanced back at the still smiling teen, her thoughts unsure on how to respond.

"Why would you need Yako's permission?" she finally asked after a few seconds as she threw some eggs, along with their shells, and peanut shells in the batter (_So they'd be crunchier! And chocolate chip cookies are brown! Peanut shells are brown! Oh! It needs more soil!_).

The 16-year-old, noting the way his pillbug's mother was looking at him as a sign of interest (all the while completely ignoring the bubbling monstrosity in the bowl―_Is that a dung beetle in there?_), merely smiled and laughed.

"That's because I might be a nuisance to Yako's presence, and because I'm a man, she might feel awkward around me," and he scratched his head and smiled shyly, imitating the abashed smile that Yako sometimes sported whenever he would―at rare times―compliment her on his expected standards.

And Haruka gasped and her eyes nearly watered.

"Oh, you poor thing! Don't think that she's being awkward around you! It's just that you're too much of a gentleman―my daughter must be adjusting herself to your chivalry, that's why!"

A small―and uncharacteristic―"oh" left his lips, and he (purposely) widened his eyes and put a thoughtful forefinger to his chin, making sure that a tiniest hint of a tear would be visible from one edge of his eye.

He made sure that when Haruka finished reassuring him, Yako, who was only a room away from him (most likely munching on a huge bowl of buttered popcorn on the sofa, no doubt), would overhear what he would say next.

He purposely whined and sniffled, "But Yako once told me that she'll hit me with a French bread if I don't ask her permission to do whatever it is that I want!"

In a matter of seconds, a loud gasp, followed by a loud crash of what he assumed was the bowl of popcorn, were heard from the living room. And sure enough, heavy footsteps and mumbled grunts soon echoed and almost tickled Neuro's ears.

He grinned.

"I _so _did not say that! Mother! Don't listen to him!" Yako shrieked as she pointed an index finger at his blankly grinning face.

Though the damage has already been done, as they say.

Haruka let go of the drill she was using for the batter (Yako and Neuro were already used to her strange tools for cooking and baking). She wiped a tear from her eye and sniffled.

Neuro's grin only widened.

"Oh, Yako! I didn't raise you to be cruel! Especially to your future husband! And he's such a nice man, too!" and she started to bawl.

Whatever reason that Yako wanted to say (yell out) flew from the window as her mother turned her back on her with a sob.

Instead of arguing—_And he won't be my husband!—_she could only twitch her eye and point a shaky finger at Neuro's widely-grinning face.

_You... You demon...!_

He only stifled a chuckle.

* * *

><p>"Zera, what do you think? Should I go?"<p>

The (wo)man, Neuro's caretaker, smiled.

"As much as I want to permanently drag you back home so you wouldn't have to stay over at that girl's place so much, I think you should do what you want. I've never seen you so bright-faced ever since your parents told you you can live in Japan."

"Don't drag those two in this."

And (s)he fell silent, clamping wide lips shut. Those bulging eyes carefully observed his (not-so-little) master's recent behavior.

Oftentimes, he would lock himself in his room, humming all the while. And every time Zera would take a peek inside, (s)he'd see tiny white puzzles pieces and puzzle boards littered all around him. He would smile throughout the whole process of putting which piece goes to which board.

He once remembered Neuro saying (with a wide, amused smile as he threw an encyclopedia on her—_his_—forehead) that the white puzzles were gifts from the "stout dust bunny down the block."

It didn't take Zera long enough to think that it was from that little girl he once saved.

(S)he turned around and hid a smile from the teenager.

The caretaker once heard that boys would do anything to capture the attention of their object of affection, oftentimes teasing and making fun of girls to get them riled up.

To Zera, it looked like the teen had been in that stage for quite some time.

"The cold-hearted and high and mighty Nougami Neuro is finally in love, I see," the caretaker said with a grin.

In a quick response, Neuro—who was in the middle of solving a Rubik's cube while lounging on the couch—swiftly grabbed the nearest book on the floor and threw it to Zera's smiling face.

Zera decided not to speak after that―it was another bruise on 'her' already swollen lips. _And a hardbound dictionary being thrown on my face really hurts!_

"I'm not in love," he hissed.

Zera stared at him, listening to his words while soothing the pain away from 'her' bleeding lips (and gums).

"I'm not in love."

Neuro was sure, that after he stood up and walked away, his caretaker muttered something about denials.

He only shook his head.

* * *

><p>"...What on earth are you wearing, Snout Face?"<p>

The aforementioned "Snout Face" turned around sharply, her reflexes as quick as a cat as she threw a towel on the intruder's face.

The intruder's reflexes were quicker, though, as he, in return, threw his slipper to her face.

And Yako fumed.

"Neuro! Can't you knock first? This is not even your house!"

He only smiled blankly, his teeth white and gleaming as he stared at the flustered girl, "Heh. _No._ And for your knowledge, you belong to me. Thus, this house—in a way—belongs to me."

She huffed, and turned away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Snail. You didn't answer my question."

With her nose still stuck in the air, her almost bare back (from Neuro's point of view) still facing him, she answered. "It's a swimsuit, obviously."

His eyebrows rose, his eyes widened and he blinked as he cocked his head.

"...You're going out to the beach wearing underwear? Look, I know you're dumb and you have a brain that's more primitive than that of a fly and all, but have you completely lost your mind?"

At this, Yako turned around, her mouth agape and her cheeks flushed at his words as she stomped her tiny feet.

"A swimsuit is not an underwear, Neuro!"

"Hah! If that thing is not an underwear, then pray tell _what_ kind of indecency is that? Showing your body in extreme levels to the public—and I thought you were smart enough not to do that. I guess I overestimated your pea-sized brain."

Yako huffed her russet cheeks and glared at his (slightly) offended countenance.

And they argued.

Needless to say, Neuro won.

* * *

><p>"Yako? What happened to your swimsuit?" asked Kanae as she stuffed her things in the back of the vehicle.<p>

The sky was dark and the air was warm. Today was the day that the Katsuragi family, plus Neuro, Zera and Kanae, would go to the beach. All of them had been shuffling around arranging their respective things since early dawn—save for Neuro, who simply sat in the van while reading a book (he let Zera do all the work), and Yako, who only pouted and ignored Kanae despite being questioned about her newly-bought two-piece swimsuit.

A few days ago, she had received some rather—_interesting—_text messages from her schoolmates. Something about the "Infamous Forehead-Biter" and the "Infamous Plate-Biter" finally being an item. She already had her suspicions since she saw the two walking down the school corridors together with an air of calm—and since then, the eyes of the students had been focused on them. The two of them together always seemed to have an impact to the people around them, and they were rarely seen separated from each other. Kanae always wondered why. There was something that had always been a constant between her best friend and her best friend's best—

—well, on what term does Katsuragi Yako consider her relationship with Nougami Neuro?

Her unchartered thoughts were interrupted at she heard a grunt from the pouting girl inside the van. Yako only huffed and looked away from the calmly smiling man beside her, opting to hum and turn a page of his book instead of answering for the girl.

Kanae, sensing that something was wrong with her friend, looked at the humming male in hopes of getting a hint of an answer to her question.

She looked at him. He simply ignored her and never met her eye, despite him feeling those inquisitive eyes on him.

And the brown-haired girl sighed and gave up, stuffing the last of her things in the bit of space in the van.

Yako remained pouting and crossed her arms, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the window, completely ignoring Neuro who was almost leaning on her side.

Instead of wearing her frilly pink swimsuit beneath her yellow baggy sweats and knee-length khaki shorts, she wore a denim vest with a pair of denim shorts (that reached mid-thigh) beneath them, her favored bikini being left behind in the deepest corners of her closet.

She blamed Neuro for it.

There was a sound of a shuffle of paper, and Yako glanced at those slender fingers that were touching the tip of a page as he turned a leaf, "You'll thank me for it later, worm."

And Yako groaned.

* * *

><p>"The sea is really beautiful! Neuro! Neuro! Come take a look!"<p>

Yako only heard a small grunt and felt a familiar elbow grinding on top of her head. She tried to ignore the pain.

Neuro smiled all the while as his dark emerald eyes calmly regarded the sea, his elbow digging deeper into Yako's scalp. He grinned at the soft sensation of the grainy and scratchy sand beneath his pale feet. It was warm, and he always liked his surroundings warm.

"I thought you said you were going to ignore me on the whole trip?" he asked as he looked down on the wincing face of the girl. He smiled.

"W-well," she began, willing the pain away from her scalp. "I can't really ignore you for the rest of my life, now, can I?"

He chuckled, and he leaned his chin on top of his arm that rested on Yako's head, that little smile widening at the slightest as he heard the familiar voices of Yako's parents calling them.

"For once in your unsightly and boring life, you made an excellent decision, snail."

Yako smiled in return, her eyes looking at the sparkling sea as her hands tried to remove the arm and chin resting on her head.

Indeed, somewhere along the trip, Yako darkly mumbled to a grinning Neuro that she'll never talk to him for the rest of their stay in the beach.

It seemed that it didn't work.

"I still want to wear that bikini, though."

And Neuro's reply was a chuckle and a quick shove of his three fingers to her mouth.

* * *

><p>Yako, after eating her fill of her stomach―which consisted of ten plates of lobsters, 25 bowls of rice, 30 plates of fatty tuna, 25 servings of crab paste, 16 plates of oysters, 11 servings of shaved ice and 26 watermelons (and as she ate, Katsuragi Seiichi's wallet cried)―laid her self on the warmth of the sun beneath the wide blanket of white sand, and she squealed like a child when Neuro threw a bucket of starfish (that he had found while looking at the different species of sea creatures on the seashore) on her face.<p>

She whined as Neuro laughed.

"Fix the parasol, snail."

"You do it."

"Oh ho? You dare defy me?"

Silence. And then―

"...Yes."

Neuro cackled as he let his body fall on Yako's form.

And her reaction was what he expected.

"N-Neuro! G-get your stupid private parts off of my face!"

He ignored her—he also ignored the passersby looking at them weirdly; he harrumphed. Instead, he marvelled at the view that his eyes were currently feasting on.

"Hm. I rather like the view here, even though it's being obstructed by your shapeless potato sack of a garment. I wonder what would happen if I remove this string―"

"It's your fault that I can't wear my swimsuit and have to suffer wearing these khaki shorts! And don't pull on that string!"

He removed his self from her, and Yako almost breathed a sigh of relief until she felt Neuro's breath on her face.

She fell silent upon seeing those deep emerald eyes.

"You'll thank me for it, you worm. I don't want you parading your sad excuse for a body in this beach. It'll only serve as an eyesore to the tourists."

Yako only looked away, the tiniest hint of a pout present on her slightly reddened face.

"Don't think of me as a nuisance, piglet. Be grateful that I'm protecting you and your thin and frail bones."

Yako only crossed her arms as she looked at him again, her awareness on high alert at the close proximity of Neuro's shirt-clad chest just inches from her che―

_―What was I thinking again?_

As she pondered over her tumultous (and _dangerous_) thoughts, Neuro simply looked at her. Neuro, having studied Yako's facial expressions and her behavior for far too long over the years he had known her, noticed something strange in the way his little pillbug looked at him.

A glassy look on those caramel eyes. Her mouth trying to babble like a fish. Her cheeks dusted with a rosy tinge. Her hands suddenly feeling a bit cold through the warmth of his shirt. Her breathing becoming a tad too shallow for his liking.

And it dawned on him.

As much as he tried and failed (sadly) to understand the complexities of the female mind, even a feeble-minded person could know what his little guppy was thinking through that cobwebbed mind of hers.

He grinned.

With a wide smile and his face just millimeters from her flushed face, he breathed in, taking in the scent of her hair. It smelled like strawberries to him.

It must be from the shampoo, he mused.

"Are you falling for me?" he finally asked with that wide grin of his, his two fanged upper teeth gleaming as he marvelled at her reaction.

And Yako, in an instant, put a starfish on his grinning face as a reply.

* * *

><p>"Wow! Father, you never told us we'll be staying here for a week!" exclaimed Yako as she happily trudged down the carpeted floors of the hotel they were staying in. She twirled and giggled upon seeing the shiny chandeliers hanging on the gold-trimmed ceilings. It reminded her of the vast sky laced with beautiful stars. <em>A five-star hotel! A five-star hotel!<em>

Seiichi laughed. He watched as his daughter hopped down the golden-hued and glazed halls and plush carpeted floors with a childish squeal, a huge smile was painted on her lips as she happily dragged Neuro along, the latter complying with a wide smile of his own.

"Ah! Neuro! Look! Food!"

"It's always food with you, isn't it?"

She laughed.

Haruka and Seiichi looked at each other quizzically. Kanae looked at Zera—who looked at Neuro's smiling face.

Sure enough, no matter how many times the Nougami caretaker could see about the noisy exchange between the young man and the girl, he could see a certain quirk about Neuro that hadn't been there before he met the "little louse," as he once put it.

The fair-haired (wo)man blinked at the male's reaction.

He actually looked―

"I saw a cotton candy stand near the hotel and―Neuro! Come with me, please?"

―dare (s)he say―

"Heh. Bow before me, Yako."

―happy?

"Neuro!"

"Ah! Yako tripped again, Katsuragi-_san_! Heh. Clumsy Yako. Come here!"

(S)he remembered once on how Neuro had described her on the day that he met her.

"A pitiful and insignificant sorry excuse for a human being that's in a form of a skinny piglet with the shape of a trash can―oh. And she's a glutton," were his exact words back then.

And he was smiling during the whole time he had described her, those jade eyes were bright and wide while he looked at afar (towards the sky blue-colored walls was his farthest distance, and yet he longed for more... _more of what?_Zera asked himself)―that searing gaze filled with a certain amount of fondness along with a tinge of pride. Those insults that he said that day held an emotion that the caretaker could not quite place.

Zera held a palm to his lips; he covered a smile as he watched his not-so-little master cheerfully dragging Yako along by the arm.

_You're falling for her, Nougami Neuro. __  
><em>

* * *

><p>"...So that's three rooms for the―uh―six of us? Isn't that a bit too little for such a price that we paid?"<p>

It was Seiichi who talked to the receptionist, his face sported a little frown and his brows met together, creating a little crease on his forehead. Haruka also frowned, not liking the arrangement of the rooms. If the arrangements were to be made that way, then―

"Isn't there another way?" asked Zera, who was quite perturbed at the sudden turn of events. Clicking his tongue, (s)he lazily twirled a stray lock of hair from his eyes, and he looked at the yawning male beside him.

"Are you feeling bored?" (s)he asked, silently taking note of the way Neuro rested his arms and chin on top of the Katsuragi girl's head―the girl didn't seem to mind though, as her thoughts were too busy on finishing her chocolate-flavored popsicle. He had bribed her earlier, as what Zera observed. _("Carry my luggage, worm. I'll give you a treat later on.")_

"I'm feeling tired," he muttered as he leaned his chin further on Yako's head. It seemed that she was already used to his treatment. What a brave girl. Or maybe she's just _that_oblivious just as what Neuro once said?

Haruka shifted her gaze, and she looked at her daughter―who was smiling while licking the last remains of the moist lolly stick. On each shoulder, Yako held her bags, along with Neuro's luggage. Curiously, she asked her daughter (all the while trying to ignore Neuro's chin resting peacefully on her daughter's head—he looked calm as he closed his eyes).

"Yako, dear. Why are you bringing all of his things?"

Neuro's eyes widened, and, as Haruka looked at his blinking little louse, he removed his arms and chin from her scalp and smiled.

"Yako wanted to carry my luggage because I felt tired. I tried to coax her that she shouldn't do such a thing, but she was adamant 'til the end! And so I let her carry my things—since she looked like she really wanted to (even though I never wanted her to)," he said. And he laughed "shyly" as he scratched his blond and black locks, ruffling it in the process. His eyes remained wide and clear as he smiled—and Haruka couldn't help but to smile at both of them.

"Honey, that's so sweet of you, really. But don't push yourself! If you need help, just ask Neuro!" and she patted her daugther's head. She turned to the green-eyed male and smiled, a soft sigh emitting from her lipstick-painted lips as she spoke.

"I know she can be quite hard-headed sometimes but I assure you she means no harm..."

Yako's eye twitched at her mother's words, biting back whatever comment she was about to sputter as Neuro eyed her with a grin.

There was a pause, and then—

"...Just make sure she eats well—you know how she is."

Neuro laughed, "Yes, yes, I'll remember that."

"Mother! I can hear that quite clearly even if you tried to whisper it!" she pouted and groaned just as she felt those familiar green eyes looking at her face. Haruka waved it off with a laugh, and opted to return to her husband's side with a barely hidden smile.

Yako's ears reddened as she pointed a finger at his nose. The action only made Neuro chuckle. "This is your fault and... and don't laugh at me!"

Neuro only patted her head with a little smile, the touch familiar on Yako's senses.

_It's nighttime._

"Oh, silly Yako. I'm not laughing at you!"

_He's always calm during the night._

Yako only turned away from that endearing expression on Neuro's face.

* * *

><p>A beautiful starlit sky. The warm breeze of the night. The crystal lights illuminating the streets. The calm silence settling in the air as the grains of time slowly ticked away.<p>

Yako curled her toes beneath her socked feet and smiled.

The room arrangements had been arranged by her father. One room for her parents, one room for the househelps and one room for the three of them. _"I swear I'm a woman!"_ Zera had yelled at Yako earlier during the arrangements because the girl had pointed out that Zera was a man and therefore should _not_be with Sonobe, and Neuro had responded by making Zera swallow his newly-bought shoes—courtesy of Yako's money. Yako had hid herself behind Neuro as soon as she saw Zera glaring at her, which only made Neuro even "happier", and had decided to shove his foot down his throat, with shoes and all—and he did it all while making sure that none of the Katsuragi household aside from Yako, and her friend was looking at them. How nice. Each room had two beds, a couch, a flat-screen TV, an air-conditioner and a computer. It was more than what Yako had wished for―now, only if their room had a fridge...

Yako stretched her arms over her head, and she distinctly heard her shoulders popping a few bones. Not that she minded much.

Kanae had already put their things inside the room, and was now cleaning her face puffed with barely-there make-up.

Yako turned around, looking at the interiors of the room they were staying in as she breathed in the breeze. Her eyes then fell on a large bump on the couch covered with a thin blanket. She blinked. Her caramel eyes then settled themselves on the stack of things (hardbound and paperback books, mostly) near the spacious leather couch. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Neuro? Why are you setting your things there?"

The large lump on the couch hummed, and the edges of the blanket were lifted to reveal a jade-hued eye. He smiled.

"Silly Yako. I'm sleeping here, obviously."

Kanae, who heard his explanation, then piped up, a wad of cotton nestled on her lap as she spoke, "But that will be too cramped up!"

Green eyes looked at the brown-haired girl, and he almost scoffed―only if it weren't for him trying to keep up appearances.

With a cheery smile, he chuckled, "I can't sleep over there in those beds with you one of you two in it, can I? It would look inappropriate." And Kanae looked to her left with a knowing smile as she clamped her lips shut upon hearing those words. (_Right. He's a man. Remember that._)

And Neuro swore he heard Yako mumble something about him "being as indecent as always."

He smirked.

"...Unless of course, Yako would invite me to her rather large and spacious bed with open arms and legs―"

Yako gasped.

"That sounds _so _wrong coming from you!"

Kanae only laughed.

* * *

><p>It was around 2 o'clock in the morning when Kanae blinked away the lights from her sleep-induced eyes.<p>

_...Lights...? _

She blinked. And stared at the glazed brown walls.

There was a figure looming in the shadows right behind her. It was looming, hunched over the bed and―

―and yet she felt no weight beside the softness of the mattress.

With brown eyes darting around her left, her head turning the slightest and trying not to gulp―she acted as though she were asleep. As she turned to her left side, she clutched a pillow close to her chest, and slowly, she squinted her eye open.

There, on the far side next to her bed, was Yako's bed.

And there, sitting beside her best friend's sleeping form, was the looming and crouching figure in the shadows.

It was Neuro.

And Kanae almost sighed. She relaxed instantly. Her tense shoulders slumped and her hold on her pillow loosened as she closed her eye once again.

Her mind could finally be at ease.

Though her curiosity was peaked the moment she laid her eyes on Neuro sitting beside Yako―and it was on an ungodly hour, too!

Why was he _not_sleeping again?

She strained to open a single eye once again, and she saw that he was smiling at Yako's open-mouthed face. It amused him, she thought.

She tried not to gulp at the sight of the tall man leaning (a little too) close to Yako's sleeping face―his smile as wide as the half-moon looking from the sky as he almost, _almost _pinched her nose.

Kanae ignored Neuro's actions for almost pinching her best friend's nose. He must be greatly amused at the look on Yako's face. Instead, she focused on the expression on Neuro's face as he stared at the sleeping girl.

_Had he always looked at Yako with that smile? And those eyes! __  
><em>  
>Illuminated by the soft and warm glow of the bedside lamp, Kanae could see those deep and dark green eyes, those eyes that were forever looking at Yako's countenance with a calm smile like a man contented with his life.<p>

_He had always looked at her like that, hadn't he?_

Just as when she thought she'd die from not breathing precious air because of the unfolding scene before her―_Your face is too close to Yako, Nougami-san!_―Kanae suddenly heard Neuro whisper, bypassing Yako's lips (_Thank goodness you didn't molest her!_), as he mumbled softly to her right ear.

_"Evolve into my woman someday, Yako."_

And Kanae saw Neuro placing something on Yako's pillow.

With a smile, he leaned away from her, and with a soft pat on Yako's head (he knew very well she was a deep sleeper, unless she smelled food in the air), he stood up, turned off the light with his candle-like fingers, and walked away from the bed, probably to return to sleep on the couch, Kanae mused.

In that moment, Kagohara Kanae concluded that Nougami Neuro was in love with her best friend.

She smiled as she closed her eyes, her thoughts finally drifting to dreamland as she wished them well.

_Yako's all grown up!_

* * *

><p>"―and then I found this lying on my pillow!"<p>

Haruka giggled while Seiichi only scratched his head. He didn't know what to say to that.

Apparently, Yako had woken up late in the morning feeling a bit sore on the right side of her cheek. Thinking that Neuro might be behind it (_He must have pinched me again!_), her eyes darted towards the couch where Neuro was supposed to sleep in―only to find it empty, save for the neatly-folded white blanket on the black leather cover. She had asked Kanae about his whereabouts, but she only shrugged as she put on her eyeliner, a vague indication that she did not know where he went. Her attention had then shifted to the two hairclips lying on where her pained cheek had been. Had she rolled over it during her sleep?

"Oh! Maybe he gave it to you as a present! You know how sweet he is, dear," piped Haruka. And Yako felt her eye twitch.

_Mother. You don't know how un-sweet he is._

Just as she was about to contemplate further on the "smiling" red and white hairclips (as she so aptly dubbed the moment she saw them) on her tiny hands, she felt a familiar touch leaning against her shoulder.

"Did you like it?"

Yako gasped.

"Neuro! I've been looking for you, dummy!"

He only smiled and tilted his head, his eyes wide and bright as he looked at her. He ignored her apparent "insult." It didn't bother him the slightest. In fact―

"Oh? You were searching high and low for me? Why, how marvelous!"

―he was, in fact, quite happy.

He pinched her cheek playfully, and he smiled at the redness of her face.

Yako grimaced as her daily torture started once again. She could swear that her skin had became somewhat numb to his touches—

—that didn't sound right.

"Shtop—pinchshing—meee!" whined the girl as she tried (in vain) to remove those constant painful fingers on her beloved face. Neuro only chuckled, his eyes smiling as he pulled her closer to his torso, never once letting go of her cheek.

"Oh, Yako! You could be a little more appreciative about his efforts! And Neuro, dear—"

"Yes, Katsuragi-_san_?" asked the blond male, his smile wide and innocent for them to see (all the while trying to stifle the bubble of laughter upon looking at Yako's reddened face—_and she was starting to drool!_)

"—Oh! Please don't be so formal with me anymore. You're practically a part of the family!" chimed Haruka, and Neuro's smile widened even more at her words.

"Call me 'Mother'!"

A bit of dribble made its way from Katsuragi Yako's mouth as she looked at her smiling mother, the feeling of numbness on her poor cheek ignored altogether.

"Mother, y'did _not_ jusht shaid tha'!"

Neuro grinned and he pinched her cheek even more.

"Oh, why, all right, um—_Mother._"

"_Nmooo!"_

* * *

><p>"Neuro, are you not feeling well?"<p>

"Why do you ask, leech?"

"Well, um. It's raining―and—you have my blankets... _again._"

"Feh. Silence your mouth and eat that pizza before I throw it on the wall."

"You are _so_not going to throw my triple cheese Hawaiian Supreme pizza!"

He chuckled as Yako pouted. He didn't need to look at her to know that she was pouting―that whining voice of hers was proof enough for him.

Sounds of chewing could be heard in the silence of the room.

It was their second day in the (_Gaudy, too huge, too flashy, unnecessarily luxurious and library-less!_) hotel. And it was raining outside.

"...And it's summer, too. Why couldn't it wait to rain after we return home?"

A shuffle of paper was heard. The tall male was leaning on the couch, his feet hanging awkwardly from the armrest (as he had long legs) and his hand lazily turning a page of his newly-bought sudoku puzzle book―courtesy of his "constantly hungry piglet"―all the while being covered in the thick bedspread that was previously on Yako's bed.

She assumed he was cold.

He only hummed.

"Ask the heavens for that. Or better yet, go home so you won't be able to complain."

Yako only pouted at his answer, her mouth filled with the tastes of cheese and pepperoni and tomato sauce as she spoke.

"But then I'll be alone."

"Not my problem."

She swallowed her last piece of pizza and licked her fingers clean of the small smears of sauce. Yako hummed and bit her lips. There was no point in arguing with him. He'd always win.

"Um. Thanks for this, by the way," she gestured to her hair, the chestnut locks being adorned by the red and white hairclips―they really resembled his smile, in a way. After much struggling earlier in the morning right after they ate their hefty breakfast, Neuro had managed to put the hairclips on Yako's hair while she was looking at some shaved ice near her empty plates―much to her chagrin.

_...And he almost glued them on my hair, for crying out loud! And no one even noticed him! How does he do it successfully every time?_

Yako secretly wondered why Neuro kept her words up to this day―

_"I like your stupid smile!"_

―and she idly wondered what entered her mind to say such a thing in the first place _(And it was such a long time ago, too!)._

"It's an obligation. You and your meager amount of money bought me many things," and he flipped another page with a huff, his pen held in between spidery fingers.

Yako tried to argue that it was him that forced her to buy things for his amusement―but any form of argument died on her lips as she looked at that barely-there smile and those warm green eyes.

She held back a giggle.

Yako looked at the dark gray sky, the drops of rain were pattering on the windows and on the veranda. Her gaze then fell on the cold and empty bed next to her.

"Kanae-_chan_'s taking a long time. She must have been stranded in the rain."

"Hn."

She stared forlornly at the now empty pizza box, the tiniest traces of bread crumbs and bits of sauce now gathering at the edges of the brown box. Neuro didn't want to eat a slice, stating that "whatever you eat, your germs will get to me and should that happen, I'll never let you hear the end of it"―whatever that means.

She stood up and threw the box away in the (absolutely large) trash bin near the front door. Yako returned to her bed, sighing as she plopped on the mattress.

"...It's still cold."

"It's quite warm in here, actually," Neuro said with a lazy smile as he finished another difficult-level sudoku puzzle book―he was now reaching for another one. Surely, he'd get bored with doing that, right?

"That's because you took my coverlets again, dummy."

Silence. A soft hum. Yako blinked. _No nasty reply? At all?_

There was a sigh from the blond man as he started to fill in the missing numbers in the puzzle.

"Buy me another one of these tomorrow. No, wait. Make it a dozen."

...Nope. Neuro won't get bored of it.

_There goes my money again._

And she curled up to her bed, hugging herself in a fetal position in an attempt to keep herself warm.

"And it's not my fault you're wearing those tiny, 'unfit to be called clothes' clothes."

"Neuro, you know very well it's summer. I _have _to wear comfortable clothes!" Yako piped as she suddenly sat up on her barely warm bed, brown eyes glaring at the calmly smiling man on the couch. Neuro ony raised an eyebrow at her outburst.

"Hn. I suppose I should be in my underwear, too, then? That sounds comfortable―to you, at least. Do you want me to strip for you now?"

"Don't want!"

"Heh."

"Cocky bastard," she muttered to herself as she buried her face in her pillow, her tiny feet thrashing in the process. It vaguely reminded Neuro of a starfish that he had thrown on her face yesterday.

He smirked.

Her ears met silence, save for the pattering of rain outside.

Why was it raining again? Moreover―

_If Kanae-chan were here, he wouldn't be treat me like this―_

Her thoughts were cut short as she felt a slight weight on the small of her back―

_―and oh goddess of sweet cakes what is that warmth and―_

She tried to move. She couldn't move. She tried to raise her head to see what was happening―

―only to end up seeing a hand covering her vision.

"Wha―"

She felt the onslaught of warmth, which was very much like the coverlets that belonged to the bed she occupied (and it was), and with a squeal, she thrashed in the hold of the familiar figure straddling her strained back.

Neuro only smiled.

"I thought you wanted warmth," he happily cooed as he jumped on Yako, "so I decided to give you what you want! Isn't that nice of me?"

Her response was only a cross between a whine and a groan―along with another butchered version of pronouncing his name from beneath the coverlets.

He didn't mind it at all.

"Oh! Did you just say, 'Thank you, O Great Neuro-_sama_?' Why, I'm flattered!"

At this point, he had already shoved four fingers in her mouth, muffling any sort of retort she was about to sputter.

And no, he did not mind that his fingers were being coated in his maggot's dribble. And no, he did not mind that his maggot-dribble-coated fingers were being bitten by his maggot.

On the contrary, it amused him _very _much.

A wild idea popped in his mind, and with a wide smile, he leaned over close to one of her now cherry-hued ears, and whispered.

"Trying to rebel against me, eh?"

He was only met with a hum coming from Yako's throat―he assumed as such (_Or maybe it was another complaint?_)―and a timbre of the smallest of laughs made its way to his smiling lips upon feeling the strange sensation.

He removed the hand that covered those caramel-hued eyes and stared at them with a glint of amusement.

As much as he hated to admit it, he (begrudgingly) concluded that he rather liked that fierce look in those usually warm brown eyes.

Hm.

That piercing glare that Yako mustered remained on him, and Neuro's response was only a wide smile of his own and a rumble of a laugh.

Yako bit his fingers again.

In response, he bit her pinkish ear, making sure his two sharp teeth bit her well.

And her reaction―try as he might to comprehend such a response with his superbly intelligent mind―was not what he had calculated in mind.

She―

―what was the term again?

Oh, yes.

She _moaned_.

Needless to say, Neuro suddenly became estatic upon discovering such a reaction from his ragdoll.

"Oh ho? What's this? Did my ears deceive me? Did you actually just―_moan_?"

Because his fingers were still in her mouth, she could only garble an incoherent reply and shake her head vigorously.

A wolfish grin took over his wide smile, those dark emerald eyes became large and feral and impish.

_So _that's_ her weak point! __  
><em>  
>He was about to prod her further―prod those buttons that only Neuro alone could push―his mouth almost came in contact with her other ear until―<p>

―muffled voices from the other side of the door were faintly heard.

He cursed. Yako squirmed and tried to wriggle herself free from his grasp. She could bite his fingers until they bleed, but―

―she shouldn't do such a foolish act, should she? That would practically cost her her life!

The sound of knocking was heard, and Yako pleaded at the blond man with her large brown eyes. Neuro stared at them, then at the door. He could lock it, but doing so would make things look suspicious.

Just as Yako contemplated about kicking him in the back (though she couldn't actually do it, her limbs being bound and all), they heard the distinct sound of the doorknob turning―and Yako panicked.

_What if it's Mother and Father? What if it's Kanae-chan? What if it's the bellboy that I ordered food from earlier? (And what's taking him so long, anyway? Where's my food!) Oh sh―what if it's _the police_? __  
><em>  
>The knob turned. Yako froze and she felt Neuro stiffen. He leaned back, away from her. At least she knew he wouldn't molest her or anything, she knew that much, but―<p>

_Darn it, Neuro! You're still sitting on me!_

"―and then I have a close friend of mine who's really nice and sweet and―Yako? What are you doing?"

She had her eyes closed, barely realizing that the door had already opened (_And it's Kanae-chan, too!_).

"I―uh―"

"Oh, Yako's friend! Welcome back!"

_...Wait. _

"Oh, hello, Nougami-_san_! _(Still not remembering my name, I see...) _Sorry. I had to go to the nearest mall earlier, you see―"

"Oh, why, that's all right! It's not like we've cooped ourselves here all day because of the rain! I spent my hours with Yako the whole day, so it's fine!"

_...What._

The movement in her body was back, and she realized that he was not sitting on her back anymore. With a startled gasp, she bolted right out of the cocoon of blankets that Neuro had wrapped herself into.

"Neuro, how could you―eh?"

Her eyes roamed where that sing-song voice could have been, and there, lying comfortably on the couch with a book on one hand, was the man who had set her back aflame (for painful reasons), looking as though nothing had (almost) transpired between them just a few seconds ago.

And she lied to herself believing that nothing really happened (_But nothing _did_ happen! Honest!_).

Kanae, noticing that something was out of place, looked at Yako and hummed, "Yako? Do you have a fever? You're quite red."

She quickly huddled her body deeper into the (_Nice and cozy!_) blankets and waved a hand. Was she really looking red in the face?

"N-no, of course I don't have a fever, silly! It's just the weather! It's too humid!"

Her eyebrow rose, "As far as I can tell, it's still raining, Yako. Rain has never been warm."

And the awkwardly laughing female on the bed heard the sound of a cough she knew all too well.

Neuro was smiling―_grinning!―_at her through his reading material! She could tell! That hardbound novel could never conceal those bubbly-looking cheeks and those glinting eyes!

_That demon!_

"W-well, I must be having a fever, then. Sudden weather mood swings and all. Haha."

Kanae only hummed and eyed her friend like a hawk. Something was not right. Something definitely happened after she left. A woman's intuition had always been her weapon on knowing things―and she was always right on her intuitions. Something had―

"Yako's friend! Who is that person behind you?"

Snapping out of her reverie and her muddied thoughts, Kanae blinked at the smiling and clear-eyed Neuro. And her lips formed a little circle, all the while trying to control herself not to yell at the man to make him remember her name (for the umpteenth time).

"Oh, right! I almost forgot! Yako, Nougami-_san_, I'd like you to meet Higuchi-_kun_. I met him yesterday on the beach! Hi-_kun_, these are my friends, Yako (she's the best friend I ever had since we were kids), and Nougami-_san_, (he had always been by Yako's side, no matter what). These two are really nice, so I know you three can get along really well!"

Yako's eye twitched. Neuro only tilted his head and smiled.

She could already interpret what that tiny bit of response from Neuro meant.

_A territorial being, he is._

...And the name sounded familiar to the 16-year-old's bitty ears. _Where have I heard that...? _

"Well, nice to meet you, Higuchi-_san_! I'm Neuro, by the way. And I don't share my things!" he chirped as he threw his book to the floor and stood. Everyone fell silent as he droned on. Yako, having understood what he really meant, only groaned as she slapped her palm on her face.

"So if you don't mind, I'll be taking my possessions with me for the moment! Excuse us," and with that, he dragged Yako away from the comfortable confines of her bed (not before getting his jacket from the couch and throwing it on her face), his ears intent on hearing nothing about her whines of protest. He ignored the curious look on Kanae's eyes and the gaping mouth of _"whoever-the-hell-you-are-you-foul-creature-on-this-planet." _Good.

Let them know he was not joking around when he said he "doesn't want to share."

The door slammed shut.

Neither Kanae nor Yuuya spoke for ten seconds.

"Um... Uh..."

"That was..."

"Awkward?"

Silence.

Then the sound of the door opening was heard.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" cheered Neuro as soon as he bursted into the room once again. "Yako!" he called from the door, and a tiny hum resounded from the halls. "Where do you keep your clothes?"

Kanae gaped at the bluntness of his question. Shouldn't he have a bit of decency to―

"At the bottom of the bed! Inside the red bag!" Kanae heard her yell.

_And she didn't even hesitate to answer him! __  
><em>  
>"Got it."<p>

Neuro strode into the room and took out a pair of pants from Yako's bag, then slammed the door once again as soon as he glanced at Yuuya.

Silence reigned in the room once again.

* * *

><p>"Why did you make me wear this again?"<p>

"So no one would see your stick-thin body, stupid. Imagine the looks on the people's faces if they see me walking with a living skeleton!"

Yako pouted and harrumphed (those jeans were too baggy for her), and yet―

"Why are you still holding my hand?"

She remained silent at the question. And when she received a pinch to the cheek, she finally mustered a response.

"You told me to not let you go, dummy."

He hummed, that lazy smile etched on his face as they walked down the damp ground. He was satisfied with that answer.

The rain had let up a few minutes ago, and Neuro had returned to his normal, abnormal self.

They walked towards their current destination―a souvenir shop―their hands loosely intertwined as they browsed the stalls.

And for some reason, Yako felt content.

"―and then there was this warm cup of coffee that I―oh! Neuro, look!" and Yako ran towards her current train of fascination. Neuro thinned his lips. What was it with women and their love for breakable things such as trinkets?

"I like these bracelets. They look, um―what do you call it?"

"Ugly?"

"No, silly!" she laughed as she mulled over the word that she wanted to say with an index finger poised on her chin, her thoughts getting none. She ignored Neuro's blankly smiling face―_He's thinking about creating new insults again. Or maybe about the new ways on how to torture me. Or maybe both. _She shivered.

Unable to hold his tongue any longer, Neuro quipped.

"Stop thinking and just buy that thing if you really want it so much. Don't bother with the issues of pondering. That's my job, not yours."

She pouted, and mustered a half-hearted glare towards the blankly grinning man.

"I don't know whether I should feel comforted or insulted."

"Heh. Try both."

And so Yako thought over the grooves and edges of the design―_it should look cute and cool at the same time!_―all the while looking at Neuro from the corner of her eye.

His hair had always looked that way―those shoulder-length black and blond locks framing his almost pale face. His eyes always held the most startling shade of ebony and emerald meld together, and Yako often wondered if Neuro had mixed blood with someone from a distant European country.

"Something on my face, Piglet?"

"No. Nothing's on your face."

And her gaze returned to the bracelets.

Tiny and sharp triangular yellow beads formed the trinket. Each bead's sharp edges were prickling her skin as she tried it on. It vaguely reminded Yako of Neuro's two fanged teeth.

_This would match with his hair, I think. __  
><em>  
>"Louse, you're taking too long to make a decision on buying that piece of trinket. Is it too much for your cobwebbed brain to manage?"<p>

She swallowed a groan. Expect him to make everything difficult for her poor life.

"I'm thinking if I should buy you one, too," she finally said as she glanced at his inquisitive stare. Neuro only furrowed his eyebrows as he regarded her as though she was a lunatic.

"And?"

This time, it was Yako's turn to raise an eyebrow, "'And' what?"

"Surely you're planning something inside that never-used brain of yours? I assure you that whatever it is you're planning, I can return it to you tenfold," he said with a grin. And for further emphasis, he leaned closer to her face, deep green eyes scrutinizing for a hidden motive behind those warm, brown orbs with a small frown. He found none.

Better yet, he _couldn't _find what he was looking for.

The mechanics and complexities of the body language had never been Neuro's field. That was Yako's expertise.

"I don't have a hidden motive, you know. I just want to buy you a present."

He leaned back and hummed as he tilted his head with his arms loosely crossed, his eyes large as his mind tried to reel in possible questions to her rather questionable answer.

"Wouldn't that make it counter-productive, though? I already bought you those little things you call accessories, and now you're attempting to buy me one, too. Should I buy you another one to compensate for your unnecessary purchases?" and he blinked.

Yako paused and looked at Neuro.

_Surely, he must be joking at that, right? __  
><em>  
>She looked, <em>stared<em>, at the blinking man, and those warm green eyes truly held no malice.

_...So even he has his moments of innocence._

"You don't have to buy me something again, it's all right with me, really. It's not counter-productive at all."

He only stared and blinked at her. A small pout graced his lips as he looked at the pair of bracelets in between Yako's fingers.

And he slapped his hand to her nose, that blank smile gracing his features as Yako tried to slap him back.

"What was that for!"

"You were thinking of me as a pitiful being, you dishrag."

She only puffed her cheeks.

_So he knew what I was thinking! How does he do that?_

* * *

><p>It was around ten o'clock when they returned to the hotel.<p>

Zera, seeing that his master and his "supposed love (_Does the master even have that word in his vocabulary?_) interest" were heading back to their room, ran up to the two to greet them.

"Master! Yako-_sama_! You're back, I see."

"Yes. We're back," he murmured as he eyed his servant curiously. Yako cheerfully greeted Zera.

Surely, something was strange...

"Were you waiting for us to return?" he asked, his brows furrowed as he looked at Zera's tight-lipped mouth.

A clipped, "No" and a furious flail of arms served as his answer.

Neuro, seeing that Yako was about to blab about whatever "insignificant thoughts she had on her mind," suddenly grabbed her by the head and dragged her back to their room, shutting the door loudly in his caretaker's face before he could say anything else.

So much for greeting them with a smile.

...And were those matching bracelets on their wrists?

* * *

><p>Surely, there was Someone―whoever that Someone was―who was watching over the people, right? This Being they called God.<p>

And _surely_, there was no such things as "coincidence", right?

Apparently, they were wrong―from a certain green-eyed man, that is.

"Hi!"

Neuro fell silent, trying to control his burning urge to throw the nearest trash can to the smiling person's face. Yako blinked as she stared at her left hand that was slowly being crushed to bits (no thanks because of the taller man's utterly painful hold on her poor bones). Neuro was thinking of murderous thoughts again, Yako mused.

"Higuchi-_san_?"

"Hi, Katsuragi!"

Neuro's eye almost twitched―did he just call her―

"Good day, Gankyou-_kun_!"

Yako groaned towards the sky.

_Another insult? Really?_

"Um―"

Neuro smirked, "Do you happen to have spare rooms for mixed baths?"

At this, Yako and Yuuya whipped their heads at the seemingly innocent-looking and smiling Neuro, their voices squeaking in unison as their eyes widened. Neuro only smiled a friendly smile.

"What?"

* * *

><p>Long chapter is long. XD "Gankyou" can mean two things: one for "spectacles", and one for "stubborn". In this case, Neuro used both to insult Higuchi. XD<p> 


	3. Intimus

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary: **_Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **Taylor Swift's "Mean", "Fifteen" and "Crazier" seem to be my main inspiration for writing this fic. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Three: Intimus<strong>

* * *

><p>It was one of the nicest things she had ever hoped for, Yako thought. And it was a nice place, too!<p>

Too bad she hadn't hoped for the best treatment―she never had hoped about anything―whenever it was about that man.

"―and why did you request a mixed bath house!"

The (_infuriating, insensitive, sadistic, dominating!_) man only hummed.

"It sounded fun," was what he simply said with a lazy smile, his head—which was donned in a high ponytail for the occasion (_It looks nice on him, I think_)—was tilted back as he sloshed the small rivulets of warm water beneath his spidery fingertips.

"I don't think the term 'fun' is the best thing that could be described in this situation."

"Hmph. You're just too modest."

She pouted.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. If you were not, then you should have thrown a wide array of your so-called 'insults' at me―not that I don't mind. I can return them just as apt."

She remained silent.

"...And why on earth are you so far away from me, you bread crust? Have you become like the mold that rots your brain? You've been sticking to those rocks for quite some time―"

"Don't smirk at me, you ass! You know quite darn well why I can't go near you!" and she harrumphed as she furrowed her thin brows, her mouth blowing bubbles in the warm water as she growled. Those emerald eyes were laughing in glee, and Yako couldn't stand the sight of it at the moment.

The sound of sloshing water could be heard once again, and Yako closed her eyes. Maybe if she closed them long enough, the image of that smiling idiot would go away.

And no, she wasn't thinking about those perfectly defined and jutting collarbones.

She mentally counted to ten, and when she finished counting, she took a peek―and was not at all surprised upon seeing those large evergreen eyes staring back―and too close for comfort―at her.

Neuro only grinned, his white teeth glinting as brightly as his michievous eyes, and he chuckled when Yako shut her eyes once again.

"I know you're daft and all, but even if you shut your eyes with duct tape, it won't change the fact that I'm here, stupid."

She groaned and ignored his remark.

He kept staring at her, she could tell―those piercing obsidian-emerald eyes have never left her even once, as much as she hated to admit it.

"You really don't know the meaning of modesty, do you?" she muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. When he didn't reply―that is, if you could call his small and lilting hum as a reply―that ever constant smile only widened just a tad, those finely arched eyebrows raised in amusement and his chin held high.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Hm? Enjoying what?"

At this, Yako grumbled, and lowered half of her head in the milky white waters, all the while glaring at the thoroughly amused-looking man.

When he didn't say anything else, she almost dunked her whole head in frustration and―

"No dunking of your head in the water, stupid."

―he grabbed her by her hair.

And it hurt. A lot.

She groaned, and her hands instinctively grabbed those painful digits gripping her alreasy-too-abused scalp.

"Owowowow ow!"

He grinned, "Beg."

She whined, "Never!"

"Heh."

And he pulled her close.

Interesting―was what Neuro thought about her reaction. A bumbling mess of jumbled words, a thoroughly-quivering stick-thin body within his grasp, and a face worthy of a tomato's jealousy was what he had memorized in his mind at that moment. Silently taking note to do what he had just did to her later on, that smirk remained on his lips as he eyed her closely―is that a bead of sweat on her nose?

Ah, the whiteness of the water had never been so... _intriguing _to him.

"Y-you..."

And the water's also rippling too much! Oh, how fun!

"Y-you just..."

But nothing's more interesting than the fact that his obviously (and very much) peeved and (completely) naked little rat was welling up in both tears and snot in his arms. Was she _that _happy to be held?

"Did you just..."  
><em><br>__Oh? She finally regained the ability to form proper words?_

"I see your inept and dysfunctional sorry excuse for a brain finally managed to return to Earth―though I see there's still no miniscule progress about your sentence-constructing ability forming on those babbling fish lips of yours."

"You let go of me, you slimy prick!"

And he blinked as he did the opposite of her request.

"Why should I?"

"You're suffocating me, dumbass!"

"Is that bad?"

Ugh. Men.

Just as she was about to kick him in places where her knees _shouldn't _be kicking, she made the fatal mistake of looking at those emerald orbs.

"Of course it's―"

She stopped.

He was pulling off the kicked puppy look. Again.

"...Is it that bad?"

"That won't work on me this time, stupid."

Neuro pouted. He whined. And a tear almost fell from one of his eyes. And yet Yako stood strong, unmoving in his grasp as she crossed her arms and looked away.

_Thank goodness he didn't actually hug me or something!_

He remained pouting, that much she knew without looking, and he made the slightest tremble on his lower lip, and Yako peered at him slowly.

_Curse those stupid eyes!_

"...It's really bad?"

"Yes, it's bad. No, wait. It's worse than bad! And here you were lecturing me about manners when you―!"

She never got the chance to finish what she wanted to say, for Neuro had already grinded his fist on her scalp―blankly smiling all the while.

"Neurooo!"

While he was trying to pulverize her scalp with a painful force, however, Yako noticed that he had pulled himself away from her―at an arm's length, to be exact―

...maybe he held respect for her, after all?

"Squeal all you want, piglet! I made sure I locked the door!"

...Scratch that. He'll never know the value of chivalry.

He laughed as Yako struggled against his hold, his one arm carefully trying to avoid mashing his hand on unnecessary heaps of bones and flesh all the while grinding his fist on her tender scalp.

The sudden sound of silence from his squealing piglet made him stop from continuing his actions.

He grabbed her hair and looked at her downcast eyes.

"Yako?"

As soon as he uttered her name, Neuro found himself being tackled by a thin, quivering pair of arms.

"Yako―!"

"S-s-something's―I felt something beneath my feet!"

And his eyes narrowed.

If there was one thing the girl was bad at, it had to be lying. She had tried lying to him at one point in their lives together, but that ended up with her being Neuro's chair for the whole day―"as her punishment," was what he said that time.

"Which part?"

"Near my outer thigh―"

And without another word, he threw her out of the water with all his might, not before making sure the white towel was firmly secured around her person. It would do him no good if he'd throw her out of harm's way only to be fully exposed the moment she "left" the pool!

And besides, his little maggot would endlessly rant on him should her towel slip because of his methods.

What was the saying again? Oh, yes.  
><em><br>__'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' was it? Well, I wouldn't have that._

With one last look at the shapeless little cocooned body lying in a heap with her towel-clad buttocks pointing comically up in the air―_No doubt she'd have a bruise on her forehead again! Haha!_―he dived into the warm (and searing) water, all the while grinning at the possibility of who the culprit might be.

She faintly saw the remnants of the man's ankles just as the world decided to stop spinning around her. Shaking her head and willing the pain to go away from her head as she sat, Yako yelled out his name. When she waited and decided that he'll be stripping off the culprit's skin with his fingertips―no doubt that's what's on his mind now, anyways―she looked down on her now bruised self.

One on her left knee, one on her left shoulder, and one on her forehead, for sure. She touched her forehead with the tips of her fingers, and sure enough, she felt a tiny bump on her brow.

At least it didn't bleed.

She realized what she had just thought and she groaned and flailed her legs like a child.

"Darn it, Neuro! Why can't you be gentle for once!"

And she peered at the edge of the pool with a small frown, trying to see if there was a familiar mop of black and yellow swimming beneath the milky waters. Her efforts were in vain.

She grumbled.

"And here was the man who told me not to dunk my head in the waters."

She leaned away from the pool, and she waited with her arms crossed and her eyes fixated on the sloshing waters, just in case he decided to rise for some air.

As she sat there, waiting, her thoughts then drifted back to that creepy feeling she felt moments prior to her being thrown out of the pool.  
><em><br>__That was certainly hair I felt. I have no doubts! And that was definitely not Neuro's...!_

"He's taking his time down ther―ah! You're back!"

When Neuro rose from the pool, the sight of that all too familiar broad grin was the first thing she noticed and it disturbed her. It was his "happy" grin, and that did not bode well. Judging from being with him for nine years, she very well what that smile meant.

"You found the culprit?"

"Yes. I believe I have. Just―Yako. Turn around."

"Eh?"

"Just do what I say, termite."

"A new insult, I see. Hmph."

She pouted, and obediently turned around, her hands clutching the towel around her torso fiercely as she did so. Neuro's wide green eyes did not fail to see, however, that as she turned around, she forgot that she was quite naked beneath that towel, and that there was a teensy space that she forgot to cover as she moved.

Nope. He did not just see her innermost private parts. He was definitely not thinking about that. He was definitely thinking about the horrid lump of bones and tissue and hair that was in his vicegrip.

Black hair. Bulging eyes. Dark eyebags.

_If it weren't for this malicious and pitiful excuse for a thing called a human being, I would have been still lazily lounging in that corner near the rocks while basking in these warm waters without a care for this ugly world. __  
><em>  
>"Don't you dare turn around," Neuro snarled. He was sure Yako heard him loud and clear, for he saw those thin shoulder blades stiffening and her head immediately bowed upon hearing his words.<p>

Good.

And not to turn around she did. Without a word of complaint nor a grunt of discomfort.

She heard him laugh, a high-pitched one, and a familiar timbre, a sing-song "This will take a while!" was heard from ear to ear. And Yako was sure that he was not talking to her.

The sounds of the violently splashing of water and of a hoarse and garbled voice and of a joyful laugh (that was surely from Neuro's obnoxious mouth) was all that Yako heard as soon as she turned around. And she clenched her eyes shut. He must have not wanted me to look at the culprit's face, she mused.

And she wasn't wrong.

The waters stilled for a moment, and she thought that it was over. Although the mumbled and incoherent words from Neuro's silent voice made her think otherwise. Those whispered words made her curious―were they meant for the culprit? Her curiosity was further piqued when she heard the agonizing cries of the culprit―the term 'voyeur' suddenly came to her mind. And judging from the pitch of the voice, it was a male, albeit it didn't sound like an old man, not even coming close to a middle-aged man. And did the voice just croaked?

Her shoulders tensed and she covered her ears and closed her eyes shut even more. She vaguely wondered if someone from outside was overhearing the ruckus Neuro and the unnamed man was making.

She counted up to 30 seconds when the noise behind her slowly stopped. She opened her eyes and she blinked, her gaze staring at some wet rocks as she spoke. "Is it over?" she asked.

"You can turn around now."

She did just as she was told (and this time, she seemed to remember that she should cover that teeny bit of space as she moved), and was not at all surprised when she saw the culprit (voyeur!) on the other side of the pool, all hog-tied with a towel wrapped around his head and a rope tied around his neck. It was a good thing that "whoever-that-man-was" was wearing clothes, contrary to what she initially feared when she first felt that creepy feeling beneath her feet. And this man looked kind of small. Very much like―

Yako blinked.

"Where did you get the rope? And please tell me that's not your towel! And what's with that scratch on your temple?" was the first thing she blurted out.

He laughed.

"Silly Yako! I always bring rope with me! And that towel was supposed to be for my hair. And―he had the gall to try and pick up a bit of a fight with me. But we all know he's not going to win, right?"

She gaped, "May I ask _why _are you always bringing rope? And where on earth are you hiding it! And don't be so full of yourself!"

In response, he swam over to her side of the pool, and Yako hurriedly covered the space that the towel could not cover―not to mention she was starting to feel a draft.

With a sly smile, he gestured a forefinger to his lips.

"I have my ways. I can't tell you why, though. And no, I've always remained humble."

When silence met his ears as a reply, he leered at her.

"Unless you really want to know what's the rope for―"

"I don't want to know! And you're not humble at all!"

"Heh."

He rose from the pool, suddenly feeling the touch of warm air meeting his skin. He sat down beside her as he admired his handiwork on the other side of the pool.

Yako's brown eyes were glued to the writhing man a few meters away from them, and she felt as though she needed to rinse herself in a nice, cold shower, "I guess our time here got interrupted, huh―"

"Not quite."

"Eh?"

He grinned, a quick, "Come here" was his reply as he slid back into the warm embrace of the hot springs. There was no way he was going to let this opportunity pass him just because of some libido-driven maniac. He rarely travels to hot springs nowadays!

She eyed the tied-up man warily as she slowly lead herself back to the waters, her eyes met Neuro's, and for a moment, she felt her fears had ebbed away.

"I checked everything below. No one's there now."

She almost whimpered―quite uncharacteristically for Yako, Neuro observed―and he did not fail to notice the slight shiver of her frail shoulders and the way her hands tightened themselves on her towel.

"What are you scared of, maggot?"

She only shook her head, her eyes casted downwards throughout.

He sighed, and ran a hand through his wet and ponytailed hair, eyes travelling to that small and writhing mess that was a man.

It took a while before Neuro almost snapped, and he growled―baring his teeth in the process. He grabbed the nearest thing his itchy hands could get on just to throw it onto that thrashing head and that slithering body on the ground.

A hand-sized piece of a rock on his head would do him good for now. That muffled voice was annoying him, anyway.

The sound of something hard hitting a skull and the lack of the sound of muffled grunts and whimpers along with the sudden sound of silence made Yako look at the now unmoving man, and she backed away instinctively, just a bit, closer towards the grinning Neuro.

"I thought you were going to strip him off of his skin with your nails or something," and she laughed, as morbid as the topic was. She had learned for quite some time that whenever she was with Neuro, her mind would completely go into wayward directions―directions that her pure mind would normally never tread. That was his influence.

"I did plan that at one point," he said with a minute pout as he scratched his chin, ignoring the scoff that Yako just emitted. "But I don't think you'd like the concept of seeing 'human skin strips' so I made a Plan B."

She slapped a hand to his forehead.

"I knew it. You were thinking of murderous thoughts again!"

"And you were thinking of running away again, weren't you?"

She was stunned, silent at his sudden words.

"...No."

"Look at me in the eye when you're saying that."

She did so with her head dunked halfway in the waters.

He only sighed, and he looked at the now still and unmoving man.

"I should have scooped out his eyes when I had the chance―"

And that familiar gasp with the inevitable sloshing of waters were heard. She flailed her arms in rapid motions, and it made him grin.

"You are _so _not going to do that!"

* * *

><p>The trip to the onsen had been, <em>interesting<em>, for Neuro's taste. He relished the fact that when they had finally risen from the waters to dry off themselves and to prevent their skins from becoming human prunes, Yako had instinctively tried to hide behind him as soon as she heard that awful sound of groaning from the man. It took him another hour to wake up, it seemed. Neuro remembered how flushed Yako looked when they were making their way out of the steaming pool, she had grabbed his arm and hand with all her might, all the while trying not to take her piercing brown eyes off of that struggling unnamed man.

And no, he did not remember how close her towel-clad skin had been to his arm and back. And definitely _no_, he had not been thinking of how soft it felt, despite the thick and fluffy fabric separating his skin from hers.

"What are you doing, louse?" he asked a puzzled-looking Yako. They had finished their baths and had changed into their clothes (and he had finally let down his hair) when he saw his little maggot's eyes hastily shifting left and right, as though searching for something.

"Higuchi-_san _is not at the counter. He's not on the entrance, either."

He snorted, his eyebrows raised as he regarded the little restless worm in front of him.

"What do you need him for? Maybe he got some errands to do."

She hummed, brown eyes darting left and right as she walked slowly, "Hm. I guess so. I only wanted to say thank you." Neuro only harrumphed in response.

And they left, his hands wrapped a bit too tightly around hers. She was used to it, though. But―  
><em><br>__Neuro looks a bit agitated..._

* * *

><p>Those little hair clips were starting to grow on her.<p>

By their fourth day in the hotel, she found herself unconsciously fiddling with each clip every few minutes, making sure they were properly in place and were not about to fall off from her hair.

She assumed she liked the design too much, and she idly wondered where Neuro bought such accessories.  
><em><br>__For someone who seems to hate trifle stuff such as fashion, he seems okay with it. Plus, he knows my tastes. Hm..._

And indeed, his sense of fashion seemed to reflect through the man.

Those numerous pairs of ogling eyes trailed on his every move seemed to say so.

She partly blamed those collarbones peeking from his thin and black long-sleeved shirt.

"Snail. Don't just stand there like a pole. We'll be late for the opening!"

She took a deep breath, and straightened her back as she struggled with her burden of bags full of books on each hand. She was sure her poor wallet was on the brink of death—and it was all because of him.

The peeping tom incident yesterday was never brought up since they returned to the hotel. The simple signs from Neuro's little actions (especially that bone-crushing grip he had on her hand and those scrunched brows stuck on his face as they walked back) made her think that he was affected as well; on what aspect, though, she would never know. And it didn't help matters either when Kanae was frantically yelling on her phone when they entered the room. Neuro's mood had turned even more sour and he made a beeline to the couch. When he deemed that he wasn't in the mood to sleep just yet, he decided to just plop on her bed face first like a starfish without even asking for permission if he could lie there or not.

They had switched places on sleeping that night—her on the couch and him on the bed. She had gotten too lazy to move as soon as her head hit the plush throw pillow—and she missed her coverlets. Too bad they had been on Neuro's sleeping form. He looked very tired, for some reason—and she blamed the incident at the onsen.

Needless to say, Kanae took it as a moment to tease them both as soon as she noticed the situation in the morning, saying things like "when two people share a bed together, it means that they've taken a relationship to a whole new level!"

The burning glares she received from both Neuro _and _Yako were not what she had expected, though.

It seemed that Neuro's moods affected Yako, in one way or another.

She sighed.

"Coming...!"

And she was about to stomp her feet again if it weren't for the smell of—

"Okonomiyaki!"

"Yako, not now. The opening of the—Louse?"

As soon as he turned around, he saw that, just as he predicted, Yako was gone, and was now jumping up and down in front of the okonomiyaki stand.

The weight of those bagfuls of books on each of her arm suddenly didn't seem to bother her anymore.

He sighed.

"Looks like we're going to be late for the bookstore opening."

* * *

><p>They had just ate at a buffet after their trip to the bookstore this morning.<p>

And after that, they had eaten at a ramen stand.

...So...

"Why are we here again?"

"Hm? Oh, I'll have a bowl of miso, please! And Father, please pass the salt. What were you saying again, Neuro?"

A sigh was heard as he chomped on a dumpling.

"Nothing."

Haruka and Seiichi's laugh echoed through their ears as they ate. Zera and Sonobe seemed to be getting along just fine, except that the Nougami caretaker kept on bawling every few seconds over a sob story that (s)he had heard on a TV last night. Kanae and—the "uninvited guest," as Neuro dubbed—Yuuya were talking animatedly, too. And as for his little louse—

"I'll have another bowl of kitsune udon, please!"

—well, she was still as gluttonous as ever.

He took a bite out of his dumpling, and the lilting sound of Haruka's voice took over the table.

"So, Higuchi-_kun, _you're Kanae-_chan_'s boyfriend. You're a cutie. Just—don't take this as an offense—what happened to your face?"

Neuro hid a smirk as he swallowed his food.

"O-oh, this? I got into an accident, you see... Haha...!"

And this time, Seiichi spoke, a forkful of lettuce in his mouth as he candidly pointed his chopsticks at Yuuya's cheek.

"So, you're saying that you got in an accident—but it looks like someone threw a rock at your face, haha!"

The table had, out of the blue, partly grown silent, on which the Katsuragi couple and the caretakers hadn't even noticed.

Kanae stared at Yako's father incredelously while Neuro tried to stifle the bubbling laughter threatening to burst from his lips. Yako only gaped at the awkwardly laughing Yuuya, then back at the barely eating Neuro, then back at Yuuya and his huge and angry bump on his left brow.

She tried to click the pieces together, and with one poke from Neuro and his chopsticks, she shut down her thoughts altogether.

Nope. It couldn't be him—

At the corner of her eye, she saw Yuuya evading Neuro and Yako's eye contact, "I'm fine, really."

—or could it?

* * *

><p>Their days went fast yet slow during their stay in the hotel. And Neuro was growing bored by their fifth day of stay. He had been lying on the couch for half an hour with a book in his hand, and yet the words on the pages couldn't get through his mind.<p>

He idly touched his band-aid clad right eyebrow with nimble fingers. Yako had insisted that he should at least cover it to avoid getting infected—the wound looked deep to her, but not to him.

He had let her do whatever she wanted to his little scar until she was satisfied.

"...Like a bothered bee."

"Hm? Did you say something, Neuro?"

He forgot that she was by his side.

"Nothing. Go back to what you were doing."

"Hmph."

And she resumed watching her favorite show.

"Yako."

"Hm?"

"What's with the strange-colored sauce?" and he pointed a middle finger towards the screen with a bored look on his face.

"It's from the squid."

"Oh."

And he resumed his reading.

Yako watched and listened to the judge's comments about the food laid out in front of him for a few moments before munching on her bag of chips.

"Neuro?"

"Hm?"

"You're bored, aren't you?"

"...Is it that obvious?"

"You've been restless, shifting and not flipping the page on your book for quite some time, so yes, I can say that you're bored."

"Heh."

She watched as the show came to a commercial break, and she looked at the barely smiling Neuro.

It was night.

"Neuro?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you always calm at night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Eh? What do you mean, 'What do you mean?' You always look calm whenever night falls."

"Really? I haven't noticed anything."

She looked—_stared_—at him.

And he truly looked like he really didn't know for himself.

She blinked.

"How did you know I look calm at night?" he suddenly asked, his interest piqued as he closed his book and eyed her with an amused gaze. His eyes briefly darted to the clock hanging on the wall, and he smiled. _Yako's friend won't be back until eight-thirty, right? Might as well have some fun!_

He hummed.

"Well? I'm waiting for your answer."

She only bit her lip and munched on her last piece of potato chip, her brown eyes darting away from his emerald gaze.

"Yako."

That was a tone he rarely used. It meant that she really should answer his question—no matter how mundane it was.

"I know because I've known you for so long." There. That wasn't a completely vague answer, was it?

He chortled.

"You have been observing me closely, haven't you?"

She chewed on her inner cheek, brown eyes avoiding forest green.

Where had she heard of this conversation?

She warily looked at him, and that wide, malicious grin was back on his lips.

Why did she ask such a question again?

Yako squeaked as that familiar wide pair of eyes bore into her, his face inching close—_too close!_—to her face.  
><em><br>__Dèjá vu, was it?_

He looked at her face intently with a wide smile, his two pointed teeth bared for her to see. Those obsidian-jade eyes memorized the contours of her face, her minute actions, the casts of shadows on her pale skin when she scrunched her eyes shut, the way she whimpered under his stare, the way her bitty ears would redden, the way her hands would clutch fiercely onto the fabric of her shirt upon close proximity with him, the way she would grumble with a muffled voice trapped by those clamped and potato chip-sprinkled lips, and the way she would take a peek when she thought he wasn't looking at her anymore, his eyes memorized them all.

And he loved every moment of it.

She shivered under his intense lush green stare, not out of fear, though—that much Yako knew.

And the question she had avoided to answer all those days ago were heard once again.

"Are you falling for me?"

Yako threw the remote control at his grinning face as a reply.

* * *

><p>It was their last day in the hotel, and they were up early for packing.<p>

Except for Neuro and Yako.

He had been lounging near the lobby, a wide smile plastered on his face as he looked at his little louse.

"You look like a prepubescent boy."

"I wonder whose fault was that?"

He feigned ignorance, "Hm?"

"Don't 'hm' me! You repacked all of my clothes when we were in the house a week ago! You're to blame why I couldn't wear a swimsuit!"

"This topic again? I thought we were already through with this? Oh, and haven't I told you that you'd thank me for it when the time comes?" and he smiled.

Indeed.

In a way, she had thanked him for what he did.

Because yesterday was a mess.

She had gone to the beach with Kanae for some sunbathing yesterday morning. She was willing to go because Kanae had promised to buy her some ice cream later on.

Once the towels and parasols had been set on the sand, Kanae, in her two-piece blue and white striped bikini, had been approached by two men. Apparently, the males hadn't noticed her. Her too baggy shorts and too loose t-shirt made her look very much _not _like a female at that moment.

And it was in that moment that Yuuya approached them, too. And for some reason, the bruise and bump on his forehead looked like it had gotten bigger. And it was also in that moment that Yako decided to back away from the claustrophobic bunch, despite Kanae's coaxing for her not to leave. The two unnamed boys teased her, telling her that she was too effiminate. And it irked her.

And so they thought she was a boy.

And it drove her mad.

And Kanae had only laughed with the boys. Yuuya only looked away from Yako.

And so she went away. She was never used in the company of many boys anyway, that was Kanae's field.

She had returned to the hotel that day with a frown, and had noticed that Neuro had been doing nothing but to read all day. She had plopped down beside the couch, and he had greeted her with a small, "Back so soon, snail?" without even bothering to look at who entered. It seemed that even _he _knew what her footsteps sounded like.

And it was then that she told him of her fair share of woes with Kanae on that morning. He had laughed as an initial reaction. And she fumed.

If there was anything that Yako was thankful for, it was the fact that Neuro, after he finished laughing at her misery, had coaxed Yako to go with him to the other side of the beach after she told him her story. They had rented a pair of kimonos from the nearby clothes store and bought two _oni _masks from the souvenir shop they had passed by, along with two black washable hair dyes from one of the convenience stores and gathered four buckets full of crabs and lobsters at the far side of the beach. She had been hesitant, though, saying something about food going to be wasted on some prank, and Neuro had only pinched her cheek painfully.

The looks on their faces when they threw the crabs and lobsters on the laughing bunch were priceless. Although Yako felt bad for throwing some little crabs on Kanae, it made her feel better to see that she wasn't the only one who got hurt in the process of being humiliated. Her best friend had laughed at her and dismissed her humiliation as a trifle matter in front of other people—and she felt like she needed a bit of payback. And by that time, she concluded that it was indeed Yuuya who had been in the hot springs on that day—spying on her like some sick pervert. The way Neuro had acted as he threw the whole bucket of lobsters on Yuuya cemented her theory. It was proof enough that he was enjoying his time on torturing him—as a means of payback for getting in the way of his "onsen time" when he had been in the mood to relax.

It was at that time that she realized what the dyes and the masks and the kimonos were for. They served as disguises.

Clever man.

It was also the time that Yako vaguely realized that she was becoming a sadist.

Neuro had urged her into dying their hair black for the moment. She had obeyed without question. He had then urged her to climb onto his shoulders before they perform the prank—and as uncharacteristic of him as it was, she obeyed without complaint. She trusted him enough, for his ideas had always been superb, and that he wouldn't seriously harm her on their way. They had looked ridiculous then, her on his shoulders, both in kimonos and masks, each with two buckets of crabs and lobsters on each hand—and both of their heights combined looked freakishly huge. Neuro was already tall and all.

And the results were hilarious.

"Thanks," she finally said with a smile, and Neuro grinned.

"Good thing you realized that you owe me one."

She laughed.

Kanae and the other men never knew who the crustacean throwers were. Those persons had jet black hair, she had brown hair and he had blond and black, and she had made sure that none of their accessories were worn on that occasion.

_I guess being with him is not so bad at all._

"Snail. I forgot. You carry my books. They're too heavy."

_...I take that back._

* * *

><p>The trip back home was silent for the most part, save for the soft ballad playing in the stereo, Haruka and Zera exchanging gossip about the latest celebrity news, and Kanae talking while bawling on her phone―to Yuuya, no doubt (he was still on part-time in that spit of onsen)―those painful scars and pinch marks by the crabs and lobsters have not healed on Kanae's skin, and as much as Neuro wanted to laugh at their fruitless endeavors on putting balms and ointments on them, even going as far as to ask for <em>Haruka<em> and her cooking for a _cure_, Neuro was still half-tempted to yell in the van just to get them to shut up; he managed to calm himself at the last minute.

He was losing focus on reading his current novel.

He felt a soft shuffle from his right, and he glanced at the sleeping figure leaning defenselessly on his shoulder, that glossed mouth slightly opened as she slept.

He nudged her a bit, and she unconsciously closed her mouth. Good. He wouldn't have it if she suddenly drooled on his shoulder. That would be icky.

He smiled as he turned a page, his mind focused on getting back on track on his reading.

"Neuro, dear?"

Haruka's voice.

And he blinked, eyes focused on those caramel orbs, "Yes, Katsuragi-_san_?"

She laughed, "Oh, I told you to call me Mother. It's better to hear that!"

His emerald eyes laughed, "Of course. I forgot! Oh, and I suppose I'll be calling Katsuragi-_san_ 'Father'?"

Seiichi laughed as he drove, and met his eyes through the rearview mirror, "Why, of course you can, _son_!"

And they laughed.

Zera, happenning to overhear the conversation, looked at his master with a smile, "So, I suppose it's safe to say that you'll be marrying Yako-_sama_ in the future? With you calling her parents as 'mother' and 'father' and all."

Neuro's brows shot up, and he craned his neck to look at his caretaker. Those black eyes truly held no evil intent, it seemed. And the Katsuragi couple suddenly became silent—probably curious at how he would answer the unanswered question.

Jade-coal eyes glanced at the still slumbering Yako leaning on his shoulder, one of those hairclips that he brought for her had managed to create an itch through his skin, and he fought the urge to just push her out of the way and scratch his right shoulder blade—but that would create unwanted consequences so he let her be.

A silent whisper was all that he uttered, moreso to Yako's strawberry-scented locks than anyone else in the van, "We'll see about that."

Neuro was oblivious to the silent exchange of smiles between Haruka and Seiichi.

* * *

><p>April. The start of a new school year. The time where the roseate petals of the cherry blossoms would greet the blooming faces of the smiling youth gathered together at school institutions to meet peers new and old alike. The time when the fresh faces of the institution would flutter with brimming anticipation and anxiety and profound optimism and pride over their new environment. The time when the opening ceremony would bring together students from different parts of the region to study together and to make new friends along with the old.<p>

Yako was a bit nervous, truthfully told. She had been separated from Kanae at the ceremony, and Neuro was with the group of boys when the program started.

She was becoming fidgety in her seat, her feet swayed left and right restlessly as she took quick gulps of air, eyes scanning over the people that would be her classmates for this year's term. Her fingers had been idly playing with her hairclips and her prickly bracelet for quite some time now. She refused to remove it even if the thing gave her the urge to scratch her wrist every few minutes―if that's what it takes to keep herself from becoming too agitated, then so be it.

And besides, seeing the bracelet reminded her of sharp teeth―a certain someone's pair of sharp teeth. A sharp pair of teeth that belonged to a certain someone that should have been here for the past three minutes and 27 seconds.

She swallowed a groan and scratched her left wrist again. Her uniform was becoming quite suffocating.

There was a light tap on her shoulder, and she quickly turned around hoping for it to be Kanae―Neuro did not come to mind. He'd never greet her with a simple tap, anyway.

Instead of her best friend, it was a little girl who had greeted her, her smile bright and her posture confident as she spoke.

"Hello there, _nee-chan_! I'm Miyasako Mutsuki! 'Little princess' for 'miya' and 'urge' for 'sako'―and 'first month of the lunar calendar' for Mutsuki! I'm kind of ashamed of my given name, though, because I think it means really weird to have a name from the lunar calendar as a given name, but I really like it because my grandfather was the one who named me! Tee hee!"

And she held out her hand with a smile, oblivious to the blinking 16-year-old in front of her.

Yako gingerly shook her hand.

"I'm Katsuragi Yako. 'Judas tree' for Katsuragi and 'strong child' for Yako. Nice to meet you, Miyasako-_san_. Oh, and don't worry! You're name's not weird at all! I know someone who has this really strange name!"

And Mutsuki giggled. Her little eyes fluttered as she laughed.

She looked really small for a high-schooler, even smaller than me, was what Yako thought.

"Oh, please call me Mutsuki! I'm only 15!"

Yako laughed bashfully and scratched her head, "Oh, okay. Sorry about that."

And they laughed.

For a moment, Yako's nerves seemed to have calmed down.

Until she felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her.

"Neuro! It took you long enough, dummy!"

He smiled as he grinded his chin on top of her head, "I had encountered a nuisance in the halls. It was annoying, to say the least."

She hummed, "Oh."

Mutsuki watched them with a smiling face, her eyes widening even more as she noticed that her new friend didn't look like she was bothered at all on being held by this man.

Maybe he was special to her?

"Is she your boyfriend, _nee-chan_?" she asked out of the blue, and Yako instantly babbled like a fish all the while struggling to get away from the hands now tightening their hold on her shoulders.

"No!"

And her retort was heard loud and clear in the classroom—several pairs of eyes looked at the madly blushing girl and at the smiling man that was practically draped over her like a sloth.

The first thing the students noticed was that the man that was draped on the girl was tall. And blond. And the girl looked small in comparison to his height.

The second thing that they noticed was that the girl who had just yelled looked like she was going to burst into flames any minute.

And even so, she had yet to break away from the clutches of that tall man.

Said tall man didn't look like he was going to let go of her, though.

The whispers ensued. And Yako didn't like it.

Honey-brown eyes darted over to the happily smiling man, and she harshly whispered to him, earning a few curious looks from the nearby students.

("_Let go of me, already, Neuro!")_

He only nuzzled his chin on her scalp further, very much like a hen finding a spot to keep her butt warm.

That was what Yako was reminded of by Neuro's course of action.

"Don't want to."

Yako groaned―and surrendered herself to her fate as she let Neuro wrap his possessive self upon her. He had been insistent that he should be with her at all times, no matter which school she should attend to, just in case her "utter lack of common sense and basic knowledge for the survival of life would bring all of humanity to its extinction." _Ugh. _

"Are you Yako's new friend?" she heard him ask, and Yako looked up at Neuro and his wide-eyed look.  
><em><br>__Sly, two-faced demon!_

"Why, yes! I'm Miyasako Mutsuki! Nice to meet you!" and she bowed. Yako noticed the difference in behavior when the little girl had introduced herself to her moments prior. She had offered a handshake, and this time, she simply bowed as a greeting.

Maybe she had issues with men?

Neuro simply waved his hand to her with a broad smile, all the while having his arms interlocked around Yako's suffocating ones, she was quite sure the blood was leaving her upper appendages.

"I'm Nougami Neuro! Pleased to meet you too, Miyasako-_san_!"  
><em><br>__What's up with him and his act of innocence in front of others? _

Mutsuki blinked, and she glanced at the still flushed teen. With a knowing smile, she laughed.

"I see. Haha! I'm pleased to be your acquiantance, _nee-chan_, Nougami-_san_! I can call you that, right, _nee-chan_?"

Yako was taken aback, and she looked at Neuro's puzzled look towards the student, no doubt he was questioning Yako in his mind about this encounter later on.

Well, she was questioning herself, too, if that was the case.

"Of course you can! Well, I guess I can call you Mutsuki-_tan_, right? You're just too cute not be called like that!"

She could barely hear the exasperated sigh from Neuro behind her (he has yet to let go of her, she noticed) and she felt his breath fanning over her ticklish neck. She fought the urge not to giggle at the sensation. Should she laugh, it would be used as another weapon in Neuro's wide arsenal of torture ideas.  
><em><br>__"Stop it with the sappy talk," _was what he whispered to Yako's ear.

"Of course you can! Oh―_sensei _is here," and Mutsuki hurriedly returned to her seat.

Yako failed to hear the sound of the bell, and the feeling of those long arms around her had loosened, and he finally let her freely move again.

Thank goodness.

"Settle down, everyone―class is about to start."

The laughter and the lively chatter slowly died down, both being replaced by the shuffling of chairs grating against the floors, of pencils and notebooks being placed on the desks, and of hushed whispers of respect and recognition to each student that passed by their eyes as they sat.

The teacher walked to the platform, his shoes tapping on the wood as he stepped towards the middle. Black eyes roamed on each student with a small smile, memorizing them in a manner befitting of a teacher. He listened until the noises had died down.

Satisfied, he took a deep breath and beamed, his wavy and messy-looking black hair thrown back over his shoulder as he wrote his name on the board—both in Latin alphabet form and in katakana form.

"My name is Jody Tubulik. And I will be your homeroom teacher for this term. I handle Biology and Chemistry along with World History and Japanese History. Any questions?"

He waited for a meek hand raising for a question from a curious student. Three seconds passed, and a hand was raised at the back.

"Yes, um―Nougami-_san_? Correct?" he replied. Yako noted that he did not look at the class record to see his name.

Strange.

Maybe he memorized all of his students' names?

He nodded, and with a wide smile, he scratched his brow, inadvertently scratching his recently healed scar from the incident at the hot springs. Yako―along with most of the female students and some males―eyed him with a curious stare.

"Correct. Um―Tubulik-_sensei_, right? May I ask where you're from? I'm guessing you're from Turkey?"

At this, the teacher smiled and toyed with his teeny black goat beard, and he looked at the blond student in the eye, "Why, yes. I'm Turkish. How did you know?"

"...I'd rather not say it out loud. Unless you want to be uh—never mind."

And Yako knew very well what he meant. That broad smile and that glint in his eyes could never conceal their real thoughts to her.

_He's insulting him in his mind._

The man quirked his eyebrows, and leaned over the teacher's table in a laidback manner, "Oh? Would you care to humor me? I want to see what you had in mind. Were you, perhaps, thinking of something—_inappropriate_—for this class?"

Neuro laughed, and some of the students were confused at his reaction.

"Oh, not at all! I definitely didn't laugh at your expenses—nor at your... _quite_ intoxicating choice... of perfume! It's simply exquisite!" and he smiled, although those emerald eyes were cloaked in sadistic glee, that much Yako could sense.

Yako silently slammed her head to her desk.

_Why_ did Neuro have to be so _arrogant!_

The smile Neuro received from the teacher was his only reply as he silently turned his back and made his way to his table.

His little fanged teeth bared as he smirked at Yako, uncaring for the baffled and awed stares he received from both male and female students alike.

"_This year's going to be interesting, Slave!"_

* * *

><p>Holy schmucks. Thirteen pages. Looks like I'm in the mood to write! XD And thank you for all the reviews! OAO~<p> 


	4. Nox

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary: **_Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **You know the best thing about writing this fic? I could write down all of my sarcasm in it and I wouldn't have to feel guilty for it in the end. Thank you, Neuro! 8D XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four: Nox<strong>

* * *

><p>A rapid flurry of steps could be heard from the boisterous corridors, followed by a fiercely ranting Yako right behind a widely grinning Neuro.<p>

"You didn't have to do that!"

A laugh, "Hm? And why shouldn't I? It's not my fault if he smelled like a thousand corpses!"

"Just because he smelled like one doesn't mean that you have to insult him! And in front of people, too!"

"Psh. This coming from the wriggling sowbug who secretly passed a note to me earlier stating that she was about to faint from the nuclear stench of the teacher―"

"I was stating a fact!"

"What? I was stating a fact, too!"

"But you insulted him! In front of our classmates! And it's only on our first day, you ass! Why can't you stop making fun of people for once?"

Yako stopped in her tracks and stomped her tiny feet and glared at Neuro's―_too broad!_―back as they walked briskly towards the school's rooftop (_Where things can be quiet, piglet!_), her ten lunchboxes in tow in each of her hand.

She waited for him to answer.

"..."

"..."

"...It's fun to make fun of people!"

"Ugh."

"So, where are we heading, _nee-chan_?"

Yako's shoulders stiffened, and she blinked as she turned around. Mutsuki, it seemed, had been following them since they left the classroom. Neuro continued to walk away while whistling a random tune, ignoring the two as he quickened his pace.

"Mutsuki-_tan_? Why are you here?"

"I've been following you two," she said with a tiny giggle befitting of her small stature―her movements were quite refined and calculated, Yako observed. "So? Where are we heading?" Mutsuki asked with a tiny hop. Behind her back was her lunch box wrapped in a fine black silk embroidered with cherry blossoms, and on her face was a bright smile that rivalled her own.

Yako slightly pouted. Looking at this girl that was smaller than her made her feel inferior for some unknown reason. She blamed Mutsuki's elegant femininity.  
><em><br>__...And why didn't I sense her following us? That was like a mad ninja skill!_

_"Nee-chan?"_

Snapping out of her thoughts at the name, she smiled lopsidedly as she turned around. Neuro was now a good two feet away from them, apparently keen on getting away from the noise of the attention-hungry students. He loved _(craved) _attention, yes―especially if it involved him being praised for his intelligence. Yako's role of twisting her words around just to praise him as to not get herself severely punished seemed to inflate his heaven-high ego even more (too bad her tactics never worked every time he wanted to bite her forehead).

But he hated receiving attention at the same time, as she observed earlier in the class. Yako often wondered why.

Maybe it was because he's often mistaken for a foreigner because of his hair and eyes? Or maybe it was because of the way he speaks to people? Him and his uncanny ways of delivering his words?

"Neuro! May we bring Mutsuki-_tan _along?" she asked, making sure to raise her voice more than necessary―just in case he didn't hear her. She received a few piercing looks from the nearby female students; she glared back at them, and they looked away from her.

She was being scrutinized. And Yako huffed her nose and brushed those seething looks away.

Maybe it was because she could openly talk to their object of awe and admiration?

He turned his head, a thin eyebrow was raised, and a dark jade eye looked at her from the sides skeptically. With one look, Yako could tell that Neuro didn't like the idea of having another person around. He had already been used to being with her―and only with her―all the time. And it was a fact. If she wasn't around, he'd always find a way to search for a place where he could be alone so he could read in peace, that's what Kanae once told her, anyway―and that only happens when she was feeling too cranky to get out of bed (she sometimes hates herself for being born as a female, no thanks to certain times of the month).

"...Alright," he simply uttered. And with that, he walked away, at a much slower pace than what he was used to. He ignored the coy looks being thrown on his way, often rolling his eyes as he snorted. The males glared at him. He sneered back. The females winked at him. His eyes twitched. And he looked pointedly back at Yako.

He's silently commanding me to catch up with him, Yako observed.

"Well, let's go, Mutsuki-_tan_!"

And she hurriedly ran over to Neuro's side with a wide smile, oblivious to the long and spidery hand that silently found its way on her upper left arm as she cheerfully chatted on about food to the now calmly smiling man.

Mutsuki simply giggled at what she saw.

* * *

><p>"Ah! That's my tamagoyaki! Give it back!"<p>

Mutsuki had been eating with her newfound friends for a few minutes―and even so―

―she had been trying to figure out how her "big sister" could eat that large amount of food on her large and multiple lunch boxes, all the while trying to swallow her own food as she watched the two very animated people in front of her.

Yako was already on her tenth and last bento box, and was almost finished with her food―until her "smiling _nii-chan_" (as what Mutsuki had dubbed him on their way to the roof, for he "smiles too much around _nee-chan_") stole her last piece of tamagoyaki from her lunch box using his chopsticks.

Mutsuki silently ate her last piece of sushi, her eyes very much trained on the wailing girl and the grinning boy—she didn't do anything much, not even blinking, so as to not miss out on anything in front of her.

"Make me," Neuro dared as he dangled the piece of omelette on his mouth, chopsticks ready to release it to its gurgling, acid-driven and teeth-filled doom.

Yako growled and angrily tried to snatch back her precious food with her chopsticks, on which all of it ended in vain as he put the food out her reach. _Damn those long arms._

"Make me return it to you," he said with that wide grin of his, waving his chopsticks with the hostaged little omelette on her nose as he smirked at her. His grin widened even more upon seeing that flushed face. Who knew that teasing a (constantly) hungry Katsuragi Yako would bring him so _much _fun?

Making a noise that was between a groan and a sigh, she tried to reach out again―and those arms were still too long!

That half-mooned and teeth-bared grin was likely his permanent expression, it seemed―and Mutsuki watched as Neuro leaned over too closely to a now madly fuming Yako―

―and the fuming girl instantly scooted away.

"Don't even try to think about it!"

The man whined, and the wide grin was replaced by a minute pout.

"...But I wasn't even thinking about anything...!"

"Lies! You always think about something!"

And there it was again, that ever trembling pout and that annoying round of sniffles.

"Would Yako want her food back?" he asked with a crocodile's tear on the edge of one forest green eye―and Yako's walls of defenses were banging and blaring sirens in her head. Suspicious—yet oh so _tempting!_

With a wary stare at that deceptive look, she narrowed her brown eyes, "...Yes, I want it back."

"Oh well, here you go," and he tossed the food back to her bento box. And Yako cried with joy.

As Yako was about to (finally) eat her last piece of tamagoyaki―with the food now poised near her glossed lips―she barely felt the sudden blur of black and yellow passing by her carameled gaze, the sudden hush of wind that caressed her uniformed skin, the sudden onslaught of warm air against her neck―

―and the sudden act of Neuro smiling and biting her ear with a bit of nibbling.

The reaction was instant.

Her precious food plopped back on the box. Her eyes, once wide and honey brown, now appeared almost black and glazed as she struggled to maintain her field of vision. With her defenses crumbling to a grinding halt, her whole body shivered, and she bit her lip as those two sharp teeth played with her vulnerable (and now very much reddened) left ear.

Mutsuki only covered her mouth, her mind too occupied to speak at the moment.

It was a good thing she had finally finished eating.

He nibbled on her ear, his teeth grazing on the helix and scapha, applying just the right amount of pressure to make his now pink-skinned little piglet squirm―and oh!

That bit of noise her throat just barely hummed made Neuro smile wide.

He deemed her reaction as his jackpot, and, sparing the dumbfounded Mutsuki a quick glance, his eyes returned to that blushing face and to those tightly clenched eyes. He fluttered his eyelids close, and his lips enclosed themselves on that sensitive spot on her ear, humming a bit as he did so.

And there it was again―that all too pleased-sounding hum to his sensitive hearing. And there was an additional tune, too!

Was that a sigh he just heard?

He licked her scapha just in case he heard it wrong―and as he predicted, the sound was heard once again.

And it was accompanied by a delightful quiver of shoulders, too! And her feet just twitched! And since when did she tilted her head back? And—_was that a moan?_

Barely hiding a face-splitting grin, he finally released her from his torture, not before indulging himself with a final lick to her pinkish and moist earlobe. Mischievous dark green eyes were hooded as he finally looked at what he had made of Yako―a panting mess and a quivering mass of bones and flesh that had somehow ended up leaning over helplessly on his arm. Those glazed honey brown eyes of hers seemed to glare poisonously at him as she struggled to regain her shallowed breathing. He didn't mind the seething glare at all. In fact, he was quite satisfied with the reaction he was receiving from his pillbug.

"...You made me drop my food," was what Yako whispered the moment she regained her suddenly hypersensitive senses. In response, Neuro hummed, and wide, glinting eyes glanced over the toppled lunch box. He grinned.

Somewhere along the line, it seemed that her lack of reflexes lead Yako to inadvertently let go of her last piece of tamagoyaki. The box was now lying haphazardly on the concrete, toppled bits of rice and dried seaweed now clung onto Yako's skirt and left hand, and her chopsticks had fallen from her shaking iron grip some time ago.

What really made Neuro grin like a lunatic was that Yako didn't seem to mind the wasted food at all, if the hazy look on her dusty chocolate eyes were any indication. In fact, his little act of nibbling her ear made her look exhausted, Neuro observed with a barely-concealed look of triumph. She had inadvertently managed to lean her lolling head to his shoulder for a bit of support, and even so, her shivering hands still weakfully tried to fight against his hold.

How brave.

In the end, he let her do what she wanted. He let her struggles run free from his grasp as she weakly moved and carefully managed a seating position that would not make her end up in a compromising position with the devil incarnate that was now―

―cheerfully wounding those stupidly long arms around her still dizzy state.

"Neuro..." she croaked as she realized that she wouldn't be released anytime soon, judging from that slightly pointed chin that was now perched over her still slightly shaky shoulders. Her bitty toes curled from within the confines of her shoes, and she felt the bones of her toes popping. Caramel eyes looked over a smiling and giggling Mutsuki sitting not too far from them, a tiny hand covering a tiny mouth as she tinkled a laugh.

She slowly moved her legs, and she felt a strange feeling of something warm and wet trickling right down between her―

Realization dawned upon Yako, and the dash of pink and red that Neuro was growing to like on those rounded cheeks drained from her face.

In a swift movement, her still trembling left hand made contact with her fallen lunch box―

―and she hit Neuro on the head with it, uncaring for the consequences that were soon to follow.

"You pervert!"

* * *

><p>It had been a week since they started school, and Yako was adjusting slowly with her new peers.<p>

Kanae, who finally showed up after three days since the opening ceremony―_I can't show myself to the public with crab and lobster pinches on my face, Yako! And look at these scabs! I had to go out and buy the perfect make-up to conceal these ugly scars! And I had to wear a mask while going out buying that make-up! It was horrible!_―was getting along just fine with her classmates, both males and females alike.

Too bad Yako herself was being disliked by some of the females in her class.  
><em><br>__All because of him. _

Hazel eyes darted over to where a certain man sat―_leaned_―over one of the chairs, his very long legs and his very large feet propped up on the desk that was too small for his mammoth height, with a mystery novel in one hand and a mint-flavored mochi on another.

The novel and the box of mochi came from Yako's rapidly thinning wallet, naturally. And how did he repay her?

By grinding his shoe-clad feet over her poor scalp.

At least her hair clips were in place.

She grunted.

"Neurooo..."

The grinding on her head stopped. And she faintly heard his feet being lowered to the floor. Thank goodness.

"Yes, kitten?"

Great. He was in one of those ultra-sadistic modes again. She fully turned to look at him in the eye.

And what's with that smile?

"...You look too happy," was the first thing she said as soon as she met his twinkling eyes.

He huffed, and he closed his novel as he looked at her with a proud grin. Her eyes glanced over the book she had bought for him. She had never once seen him put a bookmark on his reading materials, especially when the text was thick. She envied him for that, that little skill of his.

Neuro could remember everything about what he had read. A photographic memory, one would assume.

Some say that having that skill was both a blessing and a curse to the person possessing it. For Yako, Neuro's skill was a blessing, especially during the times when she would ask him about equations and such. His existence, on the other hand―

"That's because our little prank from before has finally blossomed into full bloom! Aren't you happy to achieve a bit of sweet revenge, pillbug?"

―could be defined as a curse to Yako.

She sighed, "You won't let go of that, huh."

A flick of his golden-ebony hair, a glint on those ever mischievous eyes, "Of course not."

Silence―save for the chattering of the people around them. Yako could hear Kanae planning another group date this weekend, and it would be the second time in a row since yesterday. Yako had never accompanied Kanae on those days, even now.

She looked at her brown-haired friend.

Truly, their little prank from last vacation had taken its toll on her. Blotchy and unsightly pinches marred her once flawless face, uneven skin tone was revealed due to the tiny yet numerous scars littering all over her shoulders and arms (that were thankfully concealed by the uniform), not to mention that little scab with a wee bit of pus seeping from her knee kept her from moving too much in her seat. Yako could see the reddened scab from where she was sitting.

She mentally flinched.

Never underestimate Neuro and his wrath.

"I wouldn't call that revenge sweet."

He laughed, and his eyes stole a glance at the currently scar-faced girl, "Heh. It's a sweet revenge and you know it." Neuro then leaned forward, close to her face with that constant wide smile―a habit he was slowly getting used to for the past few months (and it only happened whenever she was around him)―and whispered.

"It was a good thing that the blue lobster I caught had bitten what's-his-face on the balls! Those poor sacks must have gotten blue all over! Gyahaha!" and he cackled loudly, gleaming green eyes turning to a scrunched up pair of crow's feet and lips stretched into that familiar wide smile. His back hit the back of his chair loudly and his shoulders shook violently; candle-like hands involuntarily clapped against the wooden armchair as the sounds of his hearty laughs overpowered the students' hushed conversations in the room. Some students looked at him, some warily while some curiously—he ignored them all, though.

Yako heaved a sigh of defeat.

"―G-great balls of scorching fire! Hahaha..!"

She slapped her palms to her face.

("You're being too loud again, Neuro...!")

In response, he only guffawed even louder.

Kanae, too curious by the sudden roars of laughter from the eccentric man, looked at Yako for some sort of explanation. She was rewarded with an awkward laugh and a weak shake of her head.

Yako only lightly kicked Neuro's flailing feet.

He laughed even harder.

* * *

><p>Kanae had been friends with Yako ever since they both learned how to walk. She had been with her since her first baby tooth had been accidentally knocked out by the unforgiving swinging doors of a restaurant (little Yako had tried to sneak into the kitchen to get some deep fried noodles, and she ended up being scolded by her mother). She had been with her since the time Kanae had experienced what it felt like to pee in her underwear during recess. She had been with her since the day that Kanae realized that she had feelings for a little boy with a crooked pair of upper teeth―too bad he didn't look appealing to her now, thinking about it nowadays.<p>

This day would have to be the first time that Kagohara Kanae had seen Katsuragi Yako, the girl with the hidden heart of a tomboy, holding a hand―a boy's hand―other than her father's.

...Not to mention she looked even happier holding this boy's hand more than she held her father's own. Kanae should know. She had seen a broadly smiling Yako holding onto a then young-looking Seiichi too many times to count on the playground by the park during their childhood days.

Those were the days when Neuro hadn't walked into Yako's life yet.

Yako kept chatting along with a smiling Neuro, something about a newly-opened restaurant by the station, and Kanae vaguely remembered the times when it was her that she had been holding her hands with, laughing and chatting along with―and for a moment, she felt envious of this man. This man who had swooped away her best friend from beneath her wing.

This man who had always been smiling at her, walking with her, talking with her and staying with her. This man who had been with her best friend for the past nine years.

Where had she been after all this time? _Why _didn't she realize that the girl with the permanent penchant for food had finally developed a seemingly permanent penchant for this young man?

_When did Yako left me behind? __  
><em>  
>She glanced at those thin and loosely entwined hands, and Kanae noted that their wrists had matching bracelets.<p>

She smiled―a sad one, should anyone take notice of her currently marred features.

"Yako! Nougami-_san_! I'll be heading this way, okay?" she said as she forced a tiny smile hidden behind her pink glossed lips. She waited for the two of them to look at her and to acknowledge her presence, and when they did, she waved. Kanae mentally noted that her friend did not let go of that large hand as she waved; instead, she used her left hand (which occupied her school bag) to wave, and Neuro only nodded with a wide but tight-lipped smile. He never waved.

They had never let go of each other's hands, it seemed.

Yako smiled broadly, and her little grin reminded Kanae of those adorable little Cheshire-grinning hair clips that seemed to take a permanent residence on her hair since the night that Neuro whispered to a sleeping Yako that he wanted her to be his woman.

Kanae's smile faltered, and her enthusiastic wave slowed down just a tad. They said their goodbyes, and with a quick glance at the two, Kanae ran off to the opposite direction from where Neuro and Yako were heading.

Yako frowned, and her hold on Neuro's hand loosened. Something had definitely bothered her friend, that forced smile she knew all too well told her so. She hummed as she looked at the now empty space where Kanae had been a few seconds ago. She debated with herself whether she should go after her or―

"Louse. What are you doing standing like over there a lump of mold? I'll abandon you!"

―never mind.

Yako ran over to Neuro and held his arm. She looked back one last time before walking again.

"Something's bothering Kanae-_chan_."

He looked ahead, his smile wide and his eyes on alert for any suspicious individuals, "Hm? I didn't notice anything."

"Hmph. You never notice anything when it comes to people's feelings."

He only chuckled.

Hidden right behind a post, Kanae watched the two of them walk home, her eyes attentive on their every move. When she could no longer hear their conversation, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Yako knew something was wrong. That observant girl.

Kanae smiled and went off to find an ice cream parlor. That could cool off her thoughts.

_"Evolve into my woman someday, Yako." _

She sighed as she replayed those words in her head. Those words were meant for Yako, and Yako alone. She shouldn't have eavesdropped on that night.

But those words...!

She stopped in her tracks and looked at the orange-red sky, sighing dreamily as she smiled.  
><em><br>__Those were the words of a lover! _

She hopped on her way to her destination. No one was looking anyway.

Yuuya had been getting better these past few days, those scars had finally healed on his nose and right cheek.

What Kanae had been worrying about was the fact that one of the lobsters that were thrown on his face had managed to crawl down Yuuya's―

Kanae growled. Whoever threw those crabs and lobsters at them on the beach at that day better be tripping themselves down the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Sonobe-<em>san<em>! Yako tripped on the stairs again!"

"Shut your mouth, you dummy! You tripped me!"

"Silly Yako, I never tripped you! Here, let me give you a hand―"

"Yer pincshing m'facesh―"

"Haha! You just drooled like a dog!"

* * *

><p>Today had been strange, Yako thought.<p>

Neuro had dropped her by her house four hours ago—tripping her on the staircase with a smile as he accompanied her to her room—and he had left with her latest collection of mystery novels for him. Nope, she hadn't been saving up for him. It was just a coincidence that he saw those novels.

And that darn prick even went as far as to demand the next series of novels from her! She hadn't even received her allowance this month yet!

She groaned on her pillow.

Yes, today had been strange.

She sighed and clutched a pillow close to her chest. Rolling over to one side, she saw the picture that her mother took last vacation.

She looked quite pale in the photo.

Maybe it was because her body was being suffocated by that person behind her?

Neuro was grinning in the picture, his dark green eyes wide and bright and his teeth white and gleaming at the camera. His arms were tightly wrapped around her shoulders and torso, and his chin was resting on her scalp. The two of them had already washed out their hairdyes (by the farthest side of the beach) as soon as they had done their prank; hence, why both of their hair colors looked as normal as they were since the day they came to the beach. The girl remembered how Neuro had tried to soak her head with bleach by the ocean, both of them were still in their kimonos and all—she had retaliated by squeezing hair conditioner on his face, and it ended up with both of them having the feeling of burning eyes and being the topic of amazed spectators watching them from the shore. She giggled at the memory. She and Neuro had returned to the hotel with bloodshot eyes and bleach-smelling kimonos.

Yako noted that in the picture, Neuro had to lean down a bit just to reach the top of her head. His back and shoulders were slightly hunched. She vaguely wondered if he always looked that way whenever he would "suffocate" her from behind.  
><em><br>__He's too darn tall. _

She smiled.

Kanae and Yuuya were standing side by side on the far left, quite awkwardly too, if one should look at it. The poor couple had band-aids on different areas of their faces, not to mention both of their faces looked oily.  
><em><br>__Must be because of the balms and ointments. _

Yako pursed her lips. She tried not to laugh, she really did, but her mind got the best of her and she finally giggled. It was after a few seconds of silently laughing that she realized that she was laughing at her best friend and her best friend's (current) boyfriend's predicament.

With a quick glance at Neuro's widely grinning face in the picture, she sighed.

"...I'm slowly becoming like you, you know."

Earth-hued eyes looked at the lopsidedly smiling Yuuya, and her curled lips turned into a thin line. She remembered how furious Neuro had been since the day he found out that it was Yuuya who had snuck in the hot springs to spy on Yako. The green-eyed man was as calm as always whenever he spoke to him, but she could clearly see through that smiling façade that he was holding back. He didn't even let her talk to Yuuya after the incident!

...Which was kind of nice of him. It could only mean that he was looking out for her, even if it meant making her mad at him in the process.

But she wasn't even mad at Neuro, let be alone furious at him!

She was mad, yes, but at Yuuya, not at Neuro.

She groaned, and muffled her words to her pillow.

"I mean, Neuro never even tried to take a peek at my body, and—he was careful not to touch me on inappropriate places (I think) and... and—he didn't let me see who the voyeur was at that time because he knew I'd be mad and because he knew that I knew Yuuya was a nice gentleman (before he tried to spy on me) and—"

She paused in her spoken thoughts as she looked at her phone lying beside the picture.  
><em><br>__I could always call him. And he still needs to apologize for earlier! My ear is still tingling! _

She sharply sat up, and felt a now familiar feeling between her legs.

"...And my insides feel weird. Hm. Must be that time of the month again," although she knew very well that her period had already ended four days ago. So...

_Ugh. _

"Damn that man."

* * *

><p>Damn that girl.<p>

A hardbound book was thrown on the bedroom door. He huffed as he picked it up and placed it neatly on the growing pile of books right beside his bed.

Obsidian-jade eyes glared at his phone.

Apparently, Yako called a few minutes ago stating that she wanted to come over at his house.

He looked at the clock on his bedside table.

It was already seven-thirty in the evening.

Even though the lights have been turned on on the streets at this hour, the streets were sure to be teeming with ugly scraps of worthless humans. Human traffickers, he thought.

And Neuro would have none of it.

Rapid knocking on the door could be heard.

"Neuro_-sama_? You called?" piped Zera from the door. Whenever his sadistic master would throw one of his precious books on his bedroom door, it meant that he wanted her (him) summoned.

The bastard wouldn't even install an alarm or a bell for the heck of it.

...Not that (s)he would voice out an opinion. That would mean another encyclopedia to her (his) face.

With a barely concealed snarl, he growled at Zera, "You. Fetch the snail."

The caretaker blinked, "I'm sorry. What?"

He sighed, placing a palm to his forehead as though Zera was the dumbest person on the planet. Neuro fought the urge not to throw the bedside lamp on Zera's (disgustingly) manly face.

"I said, 'Fetch the snail.'"

"Yes, yes. I heard that part well. Just—which snail are we talking about?" (s)he asked.

This time, it was the green-eyed man who blinked, "I meant my little maggot, you fool."

Zera paused, juggling multiple faces in his mind as (s)he tried to decipher who the master of the house meant.

Then it dawned on him. There was only one person in the world whom the esteemed Nougami Neuro would call "his"—apart from his parents, of course.

He mustered up the courage to look directly onto those wide green eyes, "You want me to fetch Yako-_sama _from her house?"

"Yes. I believe that's what I've been trying to tell you the whole time, you cockroach."

Zera's eye twitched. Trust his master to pierce the most painful strings in one's feelings.

"May I ask why?"

A grunt from the irate man, "No. No you may not ask why. Just do what I say. That maggot must be clueless as to where she should go."

Zera hid a smile.

So _that's _why.

"All right. I'll get her."

And with that, Zera left to fetch and to guard Katsuragi Yako from the hoodlums that prowled Tokyo's streets.

("He should've just told me that he was worried for her, though.")

* * *

><p>The 16-year-old never expected Zera—of all people—to drop by her house at this hour. It was already 7:45 in the evening!<p>

"Um, good evening...?" Yako piped, not quite sure why the Nougami caretaker was in her house.

With a strained smile—one that showed the transvestite's crooked teeth—(s)he coughed.

"My master wants me to fetch you, Yako-_sama_."

She blinked and hummed as she tilted her head, one shoulder slinging the bag that she would be carrying over to the Nougami household, "What for?" Surely this (wo)man was joking, right?

"Well, seeing as Yako-_sama _had never been to the master's house, it's only natural for the caretaker of the house to fetch the mistress."

"Mistress? Wha—"

"Come now, Yako-_sama_. We must not keep the master waiting."

"Wai—ah! Sonobe-_san_!"

The Katsuragi caretaker simply smiled and nodded as she waved towards the retreating pair by the door.

"I'll be sure to tell your parents, Yako-_chan_!"

* * *

><p>Yako never expected the Nougami house to be so... so...<p>

"It's quite modest..."

Zera laughed behind her, "Well, the master does have a simple standard for living, it seems. As long as his basic needs are met, then he's quite content. Except for the books. You know how he is."

Yako smiled and nodded as she entered the quite humble abode, "Sorry for intruding."

The Nougami household was quite simple to the normal eye. Soft caramel-glazed walls greeted her, along with a small bonsai tree by the entrance. After removing her shoes and being led to the living room, her eyes roamed on, taking in the new surroundings.

Two long black leather couches with four sheepskin throw pillows on each side of the armchairs, enough for a certain man to sleep in. A small glass coffee table in the middle. A white and fluffy carpet on the perfectly-polished wooden floor. A large, glass-encased shelf with books about geographical places by the white-washed walls. A grandfather clock beside the large bookshelf. Another bonsai tree by the doorway.

Yako smiled. And for the first time, she was seeing Neuro in a new light.  
><em><br>__Nice house!_

"Yako-_sama_, you can go to the master's room no—"

The girl sharply turned around with a bright smile on her face. The ambience of this house was enough to make her feel very much at ease.

"Neuro designed all of this?" was the first thing she blurted out as soon as she looked at Zera. Yako knew for quite some time that Neuro lived alone, plus Zera—he was never seen with his parents, so she deduced that they must be on another country. Not like Neuro had anything to say about the matter. He always kept silent about issues regarding his family. Maybe that's why he was always over at her house? He must be feeling sad, was what Yako thought.

The Nougami caretaker, shocked by the cheerful outburst and by those smiling eyes, deemed Katsuragi Yako's presence as a positive influence.  
><em><br>__And how did she know that the master himself designed the interiors? _

(S)he beamed, "Yes. He was in charge of the interior decorations, as you can see. The master made sure his vision of this house was up to his standards. He wouldn't have it any other way. A perfectionist, he is."

Yako laughed, in a way that made Zera blink, "That sounds like Neuro, alright."

The (fe)male smiled, lips curled in a small line as (s)he scratched his nape, "Yako-_sama_, forgive me for saying this but—what have you seen in Neuro-_sama_?"

"Eh?"

* * *

><p>His little snail was taking her time for too long. And where was Zera?<p>

With a small grunt, Neuro forced himself stop reading and to get out of his bed.

The house was not that big for his little termite to get lost to.

"...Well, he can be nice in his own way, even if people judge him because of how he acts. Oh! And I think he's a closet softie―just... don't tell him that," she laughed.

Zera, fumbling with the stray locks of his unkempt hair, merely blinked at the girl's words. He was about to ask what she meant by her words until he felt a familiar weight hitting him by the back of his head.

"...By the thickness of this book, I'm guessing it's an atlas, master..."

There was a loud laugh by the doorway, and soft footfalls could be heard.

"Oh? You've finally grown a bit of deductive skills in that non-existent brain of yours?" Neuro asked Zera as he walked over to Yako to greet her with a skull-crushing fist grinding on her unprepared scalp.

Yako only winced.

"Why are you here, snail?"

* * *

><p>Neuro, as soon as he stared at Yako's attire, had taken the liberty to throw a magazine on Zera's face, later stating that he should have Zera thrown on the wall instead for making "his property walk out on the streets looking like a shrew." Yako tried to stop him, then—<em>I didn't have the time to change, you dummy!<em> Thankfully, he did stop, not after dragging Yako by the collar all the way to his room, that is.

Neuro's room, as Yako imagined, looked as spic and span as the man who owned it.

Books of various topics arranged neatly on the two, ceiling-high bookshelves right in front of his large bed. Light-blue painted walls filled her brown eyes. An air-conditioner on the far side of the room. A bedside table by the six-foot bed. A bedside lamp. More books on the foot of the bed. Yako's newly-bought novels right beside the pillows on his bed. An elegant closet made of cherry wood near the bedroom door. Plush carpets on the floor. A veranda with thin white curtains. A red desk with several dictionaries. A laptop near those dictionaries. No chairs.

"Snail. Don't just stand there like a pole. Take a seat."

"I don't see any chairs, Neuro."

"There's a reason why there's a bed, moron."

Yako scoffed.

"You won't make a good host, you know," she said as she made her way over to the edge of the bed. It was softer than her own.

Neuro only laughed.

She looked over the titles of the books beside her socked feet. Mystery novels and books about unsolved crimes. She hummed.

"What is it, ragdoll?" quipped Neuro from beside her. His lips were formed in a small smile, his demeanor quite different from his appearance in the living room—_maybe it's because it's already nightfall_? Yako looked at the book he was reading. Something about economics. She flinched.

"You read those?"

He didn't look at her, merely turning a page as he replied, "Sometimes. It's fascinating how people try to make books about improving the economy when the people who run the most powerful countries can't even keep up with the people's demands. It's funny to think about it."

Yako only nodded, unsure how to reply to that. Economics had always been grating on her nerves. The constant changing of laws and supplies and demands drove her crazy to no end.

"So? What brought you here, bread crust?" he suddenly asked, still not looking at her as he read on.

"You never told me your house was far away from mine."

"I figured it was unnecessary. Seeing as you had access to my information on your phone."

"I never knew it was this far, though. I've never really been here to this part of the city. I always thought you lived nearby, since you always drop me by my house everyday ever since we were seven. It was only when I asked Sonobe-_san _where this location was that I knew where you lived."

Neuro was silent. He turned another page.

"And you always take the train on the way home? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm guessing that blabbing, fish-lipped caretaker of mine was the one who told you that?"

She pouted as she fully faced him, hands now stubbornly clenched on her exposed thighs with her closed legs and socked feet now propped up on the soft mattress, "Of course. You never told me anything. And besides, we took the train on the way here, so I figured it out."

He snorted.

"I didn't know that I have to tell you everything―"

"But you know everything about me."

Neuro's eyes stopped moving left and right on the inked pages, black-green orbs now looking intently on searing brown eyes.

"What are you trying to say?"

"...We've known each other for nine years and―and―Why is your face so close to me!"

Indeed, Neuro's face was suddenly hovering very closely over Yako's, his eyes wide and gleaming, his ivory teeth and smooth, thin lips smiling broadly at her.

The sight made Yako lean away. When did he do that?

He leaned even closer to that now pink-hued face, his long arms now planted on both sides of her feet, "What _exactly _are you trying to say, Yako?" If she wasn't careful, she could fall off the bed. Should that happen―

―she would definitely blame that tiny skirt of hers if she fell head first on the floor. Oh, the sights he would see!

She leaned away even further from that face full of hidden mischief, "What I'm trying to say is―"  
><em><br>__That face. So close! So close! __  
><em>  
>Any second now, and she would fall off the bed―<p>

"Yes? What were you trying to say?"

That mouth was now near her own, and Yako could faintly smell the scent of peppermint on his breath.  
><em><br>__I'm feeling that strange thing again― _

"What I wanted to say was..."

Caramel eyes were drawn to emerald ones, and she could clearly see her reflection through them. Her reflection was getting clearer and clearer and that peppermint-scented mouth―

―was suddenly on her ear again.

Yako, as Neuro mentally predicted with a wide grin, fell off his bed.

* * *

><p>Zera faintly heard a soft thump through the ceiling. Black eyes looked up.<p>

"Hm. Must be some books falling on the floor again."

* * *

><p>A tongue lapping on her sensitive ear was the last thing Yako had thought of since she thought of coming over to Neuro's house.<p>

Not to mention she felt dizzy from her sudden fall from the bed. So she clenched her eyes shut.

"N-Neuro..."

He only hummed, the soft vibration from his throat sending trickles of shivers down Yako's spine.

She gasped.

Those teeth―oh!

She bit back a groan.

She felt warm breath fanning over her quite moistened right ear. _And since when did he pin my wrists? _

Those glinting eyes were on her again, she observed―one brown eye was closed while the other struggled to fend off the blinding lights from the room, all the while trying to look at those seemingly swirling black-green eyes.

"What were you saying again?" asked Neuro with a smirk. Those two fanged teeth smiled at her, and that mirth-filled voice was enough to make her feel humiliated in more ways than one.

A soft whisper passed by her now dried lips, "I could sue you for this, you know."

In response, he only chuckled, his smile wide as his head dipped low to her left ear―which had turned to a lovely shade of red, Neuro observed.

The scent of peppermint filled Yako's senses, and she turned her head away from that mouth.

"Like hell you would," Neuro said with a flick of tongue to her left ear, earning a muffled gasp from the slightly squirming girl beneath him. That reaction was _divine._

A nibble was given to her ear, with the same amount of pressure on the scapha just like what he did earlier today. Now that he knew where her weak spot was, he'd have the sole privilege to make her go down on her knees every single time he would do that to her and―

He was pulled out of his thoughts as a small hand yanked on his hair.

"Oh? Trying to get back at me, eh?"

Yako only huffed, face still slightly flushed as she turned away.

"You were having that blank smile again."

"...So I have."

And he bit her earlobe.

So she yanked his hair harder.

The soft, guttural moan from the man above her didn't escape her hearing.

So she did it again.

"Yako..."

A growl. A warning. And Yako―as much as she hated to admit it―loved it. The feeling of making Nougami Neuro twitch, catching him off-guard beneath her fingertips.

Without any word of premise, he bit down on her ear—with enough pressure to make her back arch.

In retaliation, she bit his neck.

The moans that the two of them emitted were heard by the cold and silent walls.

* * *

><p>Neuro was, by all means, a person without tact, as once described by Yako.<p>

He'd shove her to the nearest wall without batting an eyelash and would slither himself on her back without a word of request. He'd cling all over her with a smile, and he'd brush off the people's stares with a shrug as he kept on squeezing her.

And she would take it all in stride. That had always been the events that happened between them for the past nine years.

Until now.

Earlier evening had been awkward—and quite hot, in more ways than one, as much as she loathed to admit it—and while Neuro had, in the end, managed to teach her about their homework for next week, she ended up staying over in his house overnight (because it was already late and Neuro wouldn't stop blabbing over it), and she called Miwako to tell her that she won't be coming home for the night. Zera was, by all means, surprised at the girl's decision on the impromptu overnight stay, and as a result, he kept on cleaning every nook and cranny in the house—_twice._ Yako couldn't stop him—her—from his "slaving mode", as Neuro had put it, so she let Zera be.

Yako felt nervous tonight, to say the least. She kept on fidgeting on the spacious bed (_Why didn't I take the guest room instead?_), her hands curled and uncurled on the blankets as she stared at the ceiling. She kept on tugging the long-sleeved shirt she borrowed (from Neuro) that was several sizes too big for her small frame _(It reaches my knees! It keeps on falling from my shoulders! I can't see my hands when I move! It's too darn big!_). Her mini skirt and her pink tank top were hung neatly on a hanger on the closet's knob. Her hairclips were lying on the bedside table.

Neuro had been eyeing her since he turned off the lights. Even if without those lights, she could sense those evergreen eyes on her.

"Why won't you sleep, piglet?"

"...I can't just sleep in someone else's house. It's kind of strange."

"But you managed to sleep in the hotel for a week. And after all these years, I can say that I've slept over at your house―in your room―peacefully, without a hint of agitation. What makes my house different?"

_Everything! _Yako wanted to say, but she just can't, not now that he had presented those facts to her. Still, his question remained unanswered after a full minute.

He was waiting patiently for her to answer, though.

"Snail. I'm waiting."

Yako flinched at the tone of his voice.

"...im."

"Hm? I can't hear you if your face is over there."

She grunted, and rubbed her face on the fabric of his shirt, a habit she had developed since she was a child whenever she would get anxious―usually on the nights when Neuro stayed over at her house. When they were eight years old, she used to rub her face on her pillow whenever she'd get upset, and Neuro, being the imp that he was, repeatedly took away her pillow―until she'd finally crack and would just sob away her problems on his shirt then on. She had been doing that until they were ten. Then the habit gradually died out as they grew older.

It seemed that it was here to return, though, that little fixation of hers.

Not that he minded it. No, not at all!

"...It was a whim."  
><em><br>Oh? She finally found her voice? _

"Elaborate it, dishrag."

The scent of peppermint filled her senses again. He was looking at her despite the darkness around them―

―and that lean arm draped firmly on her waist was not helping her befuddled thoughts.

"Earlier―it was a whim."

"Done on impulse, you say?"

He felt her nod.

Neuro laughed. And he was sure that had the lights been turned on, he would have seen that piercing glare on those warm brown eyes.

"What's so funny?" Yako inquired with a hit to his chest. There was nothing to laugh about!

"I didn't do that on a whim, Yako. I planned it out."

"I knew it. You sly fox."

"Heh. I aim to use my cunning on you."

Yako wanted to punch him square in the face, but she just can't―no matter how much she wanted to. One, the lights were off. Two, should she punch him, Yako would have hell to pay.

So she resorted to repeatedly trying to beat her fist on his back.

He only snickered.

"You dummy, stealing my innocence―"

"Pft. Please. Don't use that word on me. I merely licked and bit your ear, nothing else. I didn't steal anything... yet."

A frustrated growl erupted from Yako's throat, muffled by the warmth of that thin, musk-and-earth scented shirt.

Her fingers clutched onto the fabric, and she fought the urge not to scratch his back with her nails, for some odd reason.

She took a deep breath.  
><em><br>Curse that intoxicating smell! _

He must have noticed her inhaling too much air, then it dawned on him. He grinned.

"Like it? I bought it the other day right after I dropped you off. The noisy salesperson kept on bugging me to buy one. So I tried it out. Do you like it?"

That muffled groan and a furious shake of her head was her reply.

"I'll take that as a yes."

That had been her last shred of consciousness before sleep had slowly pulled her in its clutches. And she blamed that scent. And that voice. And the familiar sound of his heartbeat.

She slept, with one arm draped loosely over his torso. The firm hold of her fist on his shirt had loosened as her breathing slowed to a lulling rhythm. Her face remained buried on Neuro's chest as she slept.

And Yako failed to feel the rare act of kindness from Neuro―that thin yet large hand trying to soothe the back of her head with long, gentle fingers.

He closed his tired eyes and willed himself to sleep, his nose deeply buried on the girl's strawberry-scented locks.

And even so, Neuro couldn't sleep a wink.

"...You didn't even answer my question, ragdoll."

* * *

><p>Antiseptic on wounds? Check. A gauze on the neck? Check.<p>

Neuro being an ass about ripping off the gauze from his neck with a smile? Check.

Yako sighed.

The bite that Yako _(accidentally!)_ gave him had finally left an ugly reminder of what happened last night. It would have been better if only he'd let the slip of gauze cover the whole thing up―but _no_―

"You don't have to rip it off!"

"So what? It's a Saturday. No one will see it. It's not like I'll parade myself on the streets―"

"Still! You don't have to rip it off!"

"But my skin needs to breathe―"

"Don't pull that kicked puppy face on me, dummy! You started it!"

"But I remember not leaving a mark on you―"

"Stop saying misleading words, you―"

"Neuro-_sama_? Yako-_sama_? Is there a problem?"

Yako's words got caught in her throat as Zera timidly opened the door to Neuro's room. _That caretaker of his chooses the most inappropriate times to barge in._

Yako laughed―awkwardly―as she hastily tried to hide the ugly bruise forming on Neuro's neck. They were both sitting on the edge of the bed, an antiseptic on Yako's hand and the ripped-off gauze on Neuro's. Yako had awoken this morning to a widely grinning Neuro hovering over her, and the first thing that she saw was the purple-and-black bruise on the left side of his neck. That shirt of his did little to cover it up.

Yako had been fumbling over it ever since.

"Oh, no—no! There's no problem at all, Aomi-_san_!"

Neuro laughed. No matter how much humiliation his little ragdoll experienced, he'd never fail to laugh at her expense.

Plus, that little hand cupped over his neck was making him quite ticklish.

"Yes, yes. There's no problem at all."

Yako's neck snapped to Neuro's direction. _He's planning something!_

"It's just that—" he began sheepishly, eyeing Yako at the corner of his eye with a smirk. "—A little leech sucked on my neck last night and—"

Yako and Zera's gasps were the only response he got—

—until the transvestite decided to (blindly) jump to conclusions.

"Neuro-_sama_! You should get that checked! Who knows what poisonous places that insect had gotten into!"

The barely muffled snickers from Neuro was enough to make Yako blush furiously.

"Don't laugh!" she yelled. Even so, her hand didn't leave that bruised spot on his neck.

Zera, oblivious as to what really happened to his master's neck, merely blinked and scratched his head—unsure of how to respond to their strange behavior.

"Am I missing something here?"

Neuro guffawed. Yako groaned and kicked his feet. Zera scrunched his face in confusion.

Whatever happened last night between his master and his "favorite slave" (and that mysterious "leech") would forever remain a mystery to Aomi Zera.

(S)he just hoped that that almost blood-red skintone on his mistress—as (s)he had affectionately called her since last night—would go away soon.

_I'm afraid she'll get a fever at that rate!_

* * *

><p>Remember the episode about the onsen? The part where Neuro and Yako shared a room? Yeah, that's what I have been thinking the whole time I wrote this chapter. XD Next up: a new character arrives. 8D<p> 


	5. Cruorem

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary: **_Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **You know the best thing about writing this fic? I could write down all of my sarcasm in it and I wouldn't have to feel guilty for it in the end. Thank you, Neuro! 8D XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five: Cruorem <strong>

* * *

><p>Monday. The start of a new week for the people. For some, a new beginning. For others, a routine.<p>

For Yako, a torture.

"Cover it up, dummy!"

"I don't want to."

"...You ass."

"Heh."

The weekends had been utter torture for Yako. Neuro had initially thought of simply dropping her by her house, but that changed as soon as he had managed to coax her into his clothing―_again_. He said something about her clothes deserving to be called "paper sheets", and had defeated the purpose of them being properly called "clothes".

So she had complied to his wishes.

Wearing her pink tank top beneath his thin, black, long-sleeved shirt on top (that's still way too oversized for her) along with her mini skirt hidden beneath the thin fabric of Neuro's shirt, Yako had gone home with him, all the while grumbling on about how he absolutely refused on covering up the bruise that she—accidentally—inflicted on him. Those collarbones will be the death of her someday.

Plus, the stares they had received last Saturday made Yako feel embarrassed about the whole thing.

_Neuro even went as far as to wear a shirt that showed those cursed collarbones! Then again― __  
><em>  
><em>—most of his clothes consist of wide-necked long-sleeves. Shirts that always reveal his totally-distracting clavicles. Damn him. <em>_  
><em>  
>Yako sighed as she practically attached herself on Neuro's sleeve.<p>

They were now near the school entrance, and Yako kept on tugging onto the sleeve of Neuro's uniform, hiding her reddened face away from the students.

She herself didn't know why she did it, though.

"Louse, you're going to rip my sleeve off if you keep on doing that."

She only grumbled as she buried her head further on his sleeve, one hand holding Neuro's while the other held the now scrunched up fabric.

("Close the buttons on your collar, asshole.")

Green eyes looked straight in the eyes of the students whispering around them. His sensitive hearing could pick up bits and pieces of his and Yako's names being uttered. With just one green-eyed glare at them, and the gossip-mongers scurried away from the two.

Too bad his little maggot didn't notice it, as she was too busy hiding her face from shame.

"Why should I hide it, snail?"

He felt a faint vibration from his right arm, and the sensation made him smile.

"I can see a bit of the bruise, so cover it," she finally said as she huffed a breath of air. And no, she wasn't sniffing the intoxicating smell of musk-and-earthy scent on his uniform. Nope. That wasn't the reason why she had been burying her face on his sleeve for the past half an hour.

Yako mentally swore that that scent would someday bring her fall.

* * *

><p>"So? How was it, Yako?"<p>

She turned around, and she saw Kanae leering at her and―

"Kanae-_chan_, why are you smiling like that? And what do you mean, 'how was it'? How was what?"

Kanae covered her smiling lips with her perfectly manicured nails (_It's a shade of glittery carnation pink this week, I see_), it did little to cover up that wicked smile in between the gaps of her fingers, though.

"Details, Yako. Details! What happened last Friday?" Kanae chirped as she inched closer to her best friend's face, knocking over her chair as she did so, that mad look in her eyes and that evil smile never faltered as she looked at her.

Yako wondered what had gotten into her.

_And the scars on her face are slowly disappearing. Or maybe that's because of her make-up?_

"What do you mean, 'last Friday'?"

Kanae pouted, and flicked her hair over her shoulder as she rearranged her chair. She sat on said chair and looked from side to side, Yako mimicked her, still confused, and Kanae leaned towards the still puzzled girl, whispering.

"I called your house and Sonobe-_san _told me you were out. I called your phone but it was turned off. So? What happened between you and Nougami-_san_ last Friday? She told me you were at his house and would be _staying there for the rest of the night_."

The piercing shriek from Yako was all that Kanae expected, and the raised eyebrows and turning of heads from the students was enough attention that the 16-year-old received. Even Neuro had put down his novel and looked at Yako, who had now fallen from her chair, her head first on the floor.

He immediately threw his bag at her legs.

"Return to your seat, kitten," was all that he simply said, and he resumed reading his novel, his eyebrows now slightly furrowed as he read.

And Kanae looked from Neuro to Yako, her eyes calculating and her mind gears turning to wayward directions.

With a restrained smile, Kanae helped Yako. That smile remained even as Yako threw Neuro's bag back to his face.

"You didn't have to throw it―"

"I have to, idiot."

"Why?"

Kanae silently watched the exchange between her best friend and her best friend's―

―she still didn't know what Yako considered Neuro as.

Kanae looked at the blond man's face. A blank smile, as Yako once described, was directed at Yako, and with a huff, Neuro merely pointed a middle finger towards her skirt.

Kanae saw him tugging on Yako's tie, and she could see him whispering something to Yako's ear.

Whatever he had whispered to her, Kanae could only guess.

Yako gritted her teeth afterwards, her cheeks tinged a bit pink.

The brown-haired girl had realized that Yako didn't answer her question at all.  
><em><br>__Nougami-san saved her fall by throwing his bag on her legs. If he didn't do that, her underwear could have been seen by the other students._

"You could have done it in a nicer wa―no wait. You never do anything in a nice way and―Neuro, stop tugging on my tie―"

Kanae hummed. It seemed that Yako didn't mind it at all if it was only him that had seen her unmentionables.  
><em><br>__The lucky bastard. _

"Your tie's crooked, kitten."

"You don't have to fix it―ah! Don't pull it, you dummy―"

Kanae only smiled throughout seeing the whole ordeal of the two of them bickering.

* * *

><p>Yako, Kanae, Neuro and Mutsuki have been eating their lunch together since last week. And every time they eat, Kanae and Mutsuki never failed to be stunned and amazed at Yako's bottomless appetite.<p>

"...Yako, you told me you usually bring ten lunchboxes."

"Yeah," a gulp. "So?"

"You brought eleven today."

"Oh. That's for dessert!"

Mutsuki laughed. Kanae sighed. Neuro simply drank his water. The buttons on his collar have already been closed―by a complaining Yako―right before class had started. Yako had felt several pairs of eyes as she closed his collar. Even so, Neuro had smiled at her throughout the whole ordeal.

The frustrated blush on Yako's face as she closed his collar didn't escape Kanae's watchful eyes.

Kanae's sharp eyes looked at Yako's wrist. That bracelet never left her person, it seemed. Her eyes darted over Neuro, who was now finished with his food and was now inclining his back over Yako's. She didn't seem to mind it at all, though, she kept on eating despite the weight on her back.  
><em><br>__Nougami-san seems to never leave his house without that bracelet, too, it seems. And Yako seems to like her hair clips just as much. I've never seen her wear other hair accessories other than those Cheshire hairclips ever since he gave them to her. _

Kanae hid a smile.  
><em><br>__"I can see something forming." _

"Hm? Did you say something, Kana-_nee_?"

"Oh, nothing Mucchan," she laughed. She had been calling Mutsuki 'Mucchan' ever since she met her. She's just too adorable, was her initial thought upon seeing her.

"Ah! Neuro! That's my sushi!"

"I don't see your name on it."

And so their daily banter had begun.

Kanae and Mutsuki simply watched the two bickering students.

* * *

><p>It was now the third week of school, and the students have now made their cliques within the classroom.<p>

Neuro shrugged off the people who wanted him to join the track and meet club and the Japanese calligraphy club. He deemed them a waste of time. Yako was having a hard time on rejecting the cooking club, as she was thinking she'd only end up eating everything the club has to offer. Kanae joined the tennis club, just so she could wear the adorable tennis uniform and to look cool for the boys. Mutsuki flatly rejected any club, stating that her time would rather be spent with her grandfather.

It was break time, and they had just finished their lunch.

Neuro was taking his nap, his feet resting on Yako's head as per usual. The class seemed to look at it as bizarre yet normal for him. Yako was doing her homework for next period, all the while ignoring the weight on her scalp. Kanae was chatting with the boys. Mutsuki was silently observing the class with a little smile.

"Nougami-_san_?"

A jade eye lazily creeped from beneath the layers of his paperback novel, his feet propped up on top of Yako's scalp as he stared at the person who intruded on his precious nap. Even Yako knew better than to interrupt his nap.

Scratch that. Only Yako knew better than to interrupt his nap. Period.

Vibrant green eyes scanned the nuisance.

_A girl. Reddish-brown hair. Brown eyes. Heavy facial make-up. Trashy personalization of uniform. No tie. Top three buttons of blouse undone; a hint of underwear could be seen. Too loose overcoat. Too short skirt. Long nails with intricate nail art. Knee-high socks. Sickly sweet perfume. __  
><em>  
>Hmph.<br>_  
><em>_Disgusting. _

He covered his eyes with his novel and leaned his head back on the chair, his hands lying on his torso, feet still propped on Yako's scalp.

"What do you want?" he asked, his voice void of his usual false cheer―which made Yako turn her head, and effectively disrupting Neuro's personal footrest. Yako hadn't heard that tone of voice since they were young.

Yako's brown eyes looked at the girl standing near Neuro. She initially thought it was her he was trying to talk to, but―

Yako's observant gaze fell on this girl who seemed to have inadvertently made Neuro irritated, judging from the clipped tone of voice he used just mere moments before she turned her head.

_Wavy red hair. Finely-trimmed eyebrows. Honey brown eyes with decorative contacts. Smokey eyes. Fake eyelashes. Liquid eyeliner. Cat eye look. Expensive red lipstick with shimmering nude lip gloss. Excessive use of cream blush. Unique uniform personalization. No tie. Very loose overcoat. Top three buttons of blouse undone. Lacey black bra could be seen. Probably an F-cup. Bits of body glitter sprinkled on the chest visible to the eye. A micro mini version of the school uniform. Perfectly done nails. Knee-high socks. Nose-cringing perfume. __  
><em>  
>She mentally scoffed.<br>_  
><em>_Provocative fashion sense. _

A faint thump on her head made her come back to her senses. That shoe will someday be gone from his feet, Yako mused.

She growled at Neuro, whose face was still hidden by the novel draped over his face, "What now?"

"You moved."

"My neck hurts already. Give me a break."

"Feh."

Yako's eyes returned to the girl still standing by Neuro's side, and was about to acknowledge her presence when Neuro's feet decided to make a comeback on her poor flesh and bones―this time, on her shoulders.

"Neuro―"

"Hm?"

She smiled awkwardly at the girl, "I think it's quite rude for you to be covering up your face when someone wants to talk to you."

At this, he lowered his novel and lazily looked at the girl he had just mentally considered as filth.

"What do you want?" he asked again in that no-nonsense tone of his. Yako had never been used to that tone of voice. He had never once spoken to her that way.

She involuntarily shivered. _I don't want to be the reason for that cold voice._

The red-haired girl timidly fiddled with her thumbs, eyes fluttering downcast. Trying to act coy, Yako thought. Kanae and Mutsuki, who were sitting nearby, watched the girl, and Kanae almost blanched as this "red-haired she-demon"―as she mentally dubbed―suddenly knelt in front of Neuro.

The man only raised his eyebrows.

"...What's that for?" he asked, still obviously peeved. Yako suddenly didn't seem to mind that those feet were sitting on her shoulders.

"Nougami-_san_," the girl tearfully began, and she wiped a stray tear from her (thoroughly heavy make-up covered) eyes with a handkerchief that she had taken out from the insides of of her blouse, specifically, from her brassiere.

Neuro snorted and looked away, his eyes almost rolling as he did so. Kanae and Yako's eyes widened at the act.

"I'm Jennifer Ewing. Age 15. Born on the 18th of June. Newly transferred from Scotland. The one you had pushed on the first day of school."

Neuro ignored Yako's wide-eyed and horrified stare at the girl. He huffed.

"So?"

Jennifer looked at the man who had his eyes looking at the ceiling. She returned her handkerchief back the recesses of her glittery bosom, much to Kanae and Yako's horror. Mutsuki only looked at this new girl with a surprisingly blank face.

"So! Nougami-_san_! Please! Push me again!"

Four pairs of eyes looked at the woman. And she suddenly grabbed Neuro's right thigh with her overly-done nails, effectively yanking it away from one of Yako's protesting shoulders―

―and successively (and inadvertently) making his shoe hit her face.

Kanae gasped. Mutsuki's eyes widened.

Neuro glared at this alien human. Then at his shoe that now had the tiniest drop of blood.

His eyes landed on his maggot's face.

Yako's nose bled from the impact.

In an instant, Neuro kicked Jennifer with his left foot―on the face―which caused her to yelp, and yells and shocked cries roared in the classroom, some yelling for Jennifer, some for Yako. Neuro grabbed Yako by her arm. A boy had yelled, and Neuro glared at him.

The whole class instantly fell silent.

"We're going on a walk!" he then cheerfully declared to no one in particular―though he had looked briefly at Kanae as he spoke―and dragged an unresisting Yako away from the stunned classroom.

As he slid the classroom door close, he faintly heard his little snail had sniffled, and the banshee wail of the strange redhead had rung annoyingly in his ears even as he took large steps on walking.

He looked at the nosebleeding Yako from the corner of his piercing eye.

She had managed to cover up her nose with her overcoat's sleeve. Even so, she uttered no word of complaint or accusation, only silently letting herself be dragged by him.

* * *

><p>"Stupid girl. That's why I told you not to move."<p>

"But you―"

"No buts."

She whined as she let a large hand wipe the blood from her face. Neuro had already snatched away her overcoat and threw it haphazardly on the floor the moment he made her sit on the stretcher and closed the thin dividers. He made the hasty yet calm decision to get the antiseptic and bandages and cotton balls from the appalled nurse―and he had done it all with a fake smile.

No, he did not threaten her. That would make him look like a bad person!

The sting of the medicine made Yako wince, and, as soon as Neuro's green eyes saw that she was now biting her lip to keep herself from screaming out in pain, he held out his right arm to her mouth.

"Bite it," he ordered.

And to bite it she did.

With his free left hand, he dipped the tweezers and the cotton ball on the little brown bottle. With a soft blow of air to Yako's nose, and ignoring her soft whimper, he dabbed the now moist cotton on the wound.

She flinched, and she bit his arm harder. Her hands had shakily found their way to Neuro's pants-clad knee, it seemed. Her brown eyes clenched shut as she felt the unforgiving sting on her bloodied nose. A tear almost fell from her eye.

Even so, Neuro's face remained passive, his eyes and hands intent on cleaning away all the red that stained her face. His peppermint-scented breath and the familiar smell of musk and earth from his uniform―even if Yako could mainly smell her own blood―seemed to penetrate her senses, and in a way, she found herself being calmed by the presence of this man.

Neuro noticed that her features slowly turned serene.

Two balls of cotton were finally dabbed on Yako's unfortunate nostrils, and as unsightly as she felt―_stupid cotton balls, making me look like a loon_―she was somehow grateful for it.

With a soft sniffle, she slowly stood up, one of her hands grasping onto Neuro's arm―the one that she bit, it felt moist on her shaky and clammy hands―for support.

She forgot how much blood she lost on their way to the infirmary.

She toppled to the floor.

Good thing Neuro quickly threw a pillow on the area where she had fallen on just before she actually fell.  
><em><br>__His reflexes amaze me at times. _

"Um, thanks," she mumbled after slowly getting up, picking up the pillow as she did so.

"Hmph. Your inability to understand the weakness of your body is quite fascinating."

Yako pouted and stood up gingerly, grumbling a bit when her vision started to spin. She managed to weakly throw the pillow back to Neuro's face and plopped herself back on the bed.  
><em><br>__Hm. Not as soft as Neuro's, but it will do. _

Yako had an arm covering her eyes, and even so, she could feel those haunting green eyes on her.

"Louse. You could at least try to arrange yourself properly on the bed if you want to rest."

She only grumbled, and rolled over the bed, brown orbs still closed. Her legs were still awkwardly hanging on the edge of the bed. Her shoes had come off at some point, and dark green eyes could see the twiddling of her little toes through those thin white socks.

He supressed a chuckle.

With a sharp intake of air, his long arms wrapped themselves around Yako's (quite thin) waist and, ignoring her hushed and weak protests (so as to not make the nurse, that was just meters away from them, suspicious―not that they were doing anything suspicious!)―

―he tossed her on the bed.  
><em><br>__Like a sack of potatoes! _

Yako, still dizzy after being thrown carelessly on the bed, almost got up to curse at Neuro when she realized―

"...Oh. You arranged my position."

"Of course, you lazy slug. You wouldn't move. And if you won't move, I won't have any space."

And with a huff, he slumped on the white-painted—_and horridly cold_—metal headboard, those long socked feet were now resting on the top of the mattress. He closed his eyes, and those hands were resting calmly on his stomach―

―and that familiar ghost of a smile was present on his face, Yako observed with a small smile of her own.  
><em><br>__It's not even night yet. _

Her gaze drifted to the closed dividers, taking note of how the sunlight passed through its thin frame. The sunlight hit his golden-ebony hair, and those shadows were kissing his slightly pale face―on the bridge of his nose, on the Cupid's bow of his thin lips, and the tiniest bit of shadow beneath those ethereal emerald eyes. She also noticed a tiny mole right below his left ear.

She hid a smile with her hand.

One jade eye peered lazily towards the slightly grinning girl.

"What's so funny, bread crust?"

"Nothing much," she said with a bit of a giggle as she scooted over a bit. Neuro raised his eyebrows, and taking it as a silent invitation, he moved closer to the middle of the bed.

"You take up too much space," Yako muttered as she watched Neuro tried to get comfortable with the cold headboard.

_He always hated his surroundings cold._

"You take up too little space," he retorted with a smirk. Crossing his legs and arms, he closed his eyes, his subconscious still very much aware of those warm brown eyes trained on him. He didn't mind it much.

"You have been sleeping poorly, haven't you?" he heard her ask.  
><em><br>__So she noticed. _

"So what if I have?" Neuro asked, his eyes still closed as he answered her. It was true that the incident on that (_adventurous?_) Friday night was to blame for his current sleeping problems―but he couldn't just tell her that, thinking about it made him feel weak. He had tried to sleep in all day three Saturdays ago after he had dropped off Yako to her house.

The scent of strawberries wouldn't fade away from his pillow.

It had accumulated to his problem.

He could have had the pillowcase washed―or, at one point, he mulled over trying to just throw the pillow to the trash, just to get it over with. But he did no such thing. He had let its scent invade his nostrils every time he went to bed.

And it was now taking its toll on him.

"That's rare. I've never seen you having problems with sleeping," he heard her say. He hummed.

"There's a first in everything, as they say."

He could hear a soft shuffle from his left, and he took a peek at what his little louse was trying to do.

She had scooted over, closer to him.

"If you have problems, just tell me," she said with a broad smile.

Neuro only snorted and closed his eye.  
><em><br>__You're the problem, you lump of mold. _

"You look even more stupid with that cotton on your nose," he replied instead.

He waited for some sort of response, none came.

He opened one of his eyes just a tad, and looking at her, he noticed that she was glaring at him.

"What?" he asked as he turned to her, his eyebrows raised as he regarded that angry pout from his maggot.

"This was all her fault," she grumbled as she faced the ceiling and slowly removed her hair clips and put them in her skirt pocket. The act made her skirt flip up just the tiniest bit, Neuro observed. She seemed oblivious by it―that, or maybe she didn't mind it at all. She sniffled again as she turned to his side, her little mouth formed in a tiny circle as she breathed through it.

The accusation piqued his interest, "Oh? So you're not going to blame me for all of this? Because it is I who always put my feet everyday on your tiny head and your weak shoulders."

The response he got, a quick and blunt, "I'm already used to it so I don't blame you on that―but that horribly-make-upped girl made me bleed! Even you of all people have never inflicted any injury on me that's enough to make me bleed!" made him surprised. He expected that she might have blamed his feet and shoes, at least.

Hearing this made him smile a bit. At least he'll never have to hear her complaining about him―not that she ever did that.

He had once read from a magazine, the one that Zera always had lying on the living room's table, that women have the tendency to blame whatever misfortune they had on men, and that it usually becomes the reason of endless fights.

The result of today's incident led Neuro to believe that it wasn't true on Yako's case.

He made a mental note to burn all of Zera's magazines as soon as he gets home.

"What's with that smile?"

"Heh. You want to curse her out? Has my sadism been rubbing off on you?"

"Eh? No, not that! What I mean is she shouldn't just go over to you and rub herself all over you and―why did you push her on the first day anyway?" she quickly changed the topic. Yako remembered how Neuro had said something about a "nuisance on the halls" on their first school day―was Jennifer the one he was talking about?

"She was blocking my way. Not to mention she kept on blinking at me when I was looking for the homeroom. So when she blocked my way for the fourth time with her disgustingly body-glittered chest, me getting in a foul mood, I―"

He smiled, and looked so happy as he continued, "―pushed her to the bulletin board."

Yako gaped. She felt the need to breathe properly as she stared at this widely smiling man.

"You pushed her to the bulletin board?"

"Yup! And I think one of the pins on the board got stuck on her, she was yelling at me as I entered homeroom. Something about prickling her face or something."

That smile and that joyful tone of voice never left him as he finished his story.

And Yako laughed until she felt her nose clogging her airpaths. Even so, she laughed until Neuro flicked his middle finger to her forehead.

"What's so funny now, you pug?"

"So that's why you looked pissed when I saw you that day!"

A small frown from Neuro, "How did you know―"

"Your smile screamed sadism that day when you crept up on me. And she wasn't blinking at you! I bet she was _winking_!"

He scoffed, "Hmph. Whatever you called it, it will never change the fact that her ways of trying to woo me won't work. She sparkles too much."

"You mean her chest sparkles too much."

He looked at her.

And they laughed.

* * *

><p>"Neuro-<em>nii<em>? _Nee-chan_?"

"Yako? Nougami-_san_?"

Kanae and Mutsuki peered in the infirmary, and, with a humble bow to the nurse, they entered the room. The nurse, a young woman with the name and face that no one even remembered, led the two girls to where Yako and Neuro had been resting in.

Kanae peeked behind the thin green divider, and there, sleeping softly to the world, was Neuro and Yako. The girl had her left arm loosely draped on the sleeping young man's folded hands and abdomen, her face slightly pale from the loss of blood. The cotton on her nostrils tinged a bit pink, and she looked like she's having a hard time breathing. A blanket covered her slightly pale body. Neuro had his head leaning on the metal headboard, and his long legs were crossed, not to mention he was on the side where the tiny wooden table was, making it harder for the girls to wake Yako up.

Kanae's eye twitched.  
><em><br>__It's as if he doesn't want anyone to come near her! _

Mutsuki coughed. Kanae looked at her, then back at Neuro―

―who was now looking at them with those wide, dark green eyes.

"Oh, hi, Miyasako-_san_! Yako's friend! What brings you here?" he chirped in that joyful voice of his. Looking at him now, he appeared to be long awake, but the tired look in his eyes suggested that maybe he was really tired.

Kanae noted that he didn't move Yako's hand. Instead, he held it in place with his right hand.

_And he still cannot remember my name._

"Neuro-_nii_! We brought you your things, since I thought that maybe _nee-chan _was hungry! And it's break time!" she piped up with that bright smile of hers. Neuro looked at Kanae's hand, and it was true.

Mutsuki laid Yako's bag on the foot of the bed, and Kanae wordlessly put Neuro's bag and Yako's bag of lunches near the little table.

"How is she?" Kanae asked as she scratched her left arm. She felt uncomfortable―something that she didn't normally feel, she wondered why.

Neuro hummed, and looked at the sleeping girl. He had put a blanket over her body right before he felt sleepy, the reason being―  
><em><br>__―in case someone barges in and might see things that the intruder shouldn't see. _

"She's fine. Lost a bit of blood, but she's fine."

Kanae heaved a sigh of relief, "Oh, that's good―"

"―Although my little kitten tried to return to class with that dizzy head of hers. Good thing I persuaded her to just rest!" he finished with a happy smile.

Kanae blinked, "She... felt dizzy? Just how much blood did she lose?"

"About half the size of her arm, good thing she―"

"Oh, Nougami-_san_! What would Yako do if you weren't with her!"

In her burst of glee, she had inadvertently grabbed his right shoulder.

Her face paled, and she hurriedly hid her hands. The look he just gave her sent fear to her body.

"...Um. Sorry," she quickly said as she looked at anywhere but him. _It looks like he's the type that doesn't want to be randomly touched. Earlier too._

"Neuro-_nii_! Tubulik-_sensei _had been looking for you. So did the other teachers. He said something about the 'class looking like a bunch of headless chickens' without you around. I wonder what he meant by that. Kana-_nee _wouldn't tell me."

Neuro chuckled at the words, and while looking at Yako, he poked her cheek twice.

"Yako. Wake up."

She only grumbled a soft, "five more minutes" and tightened her hold around him.  
><em><br>__Nougami-san seems okay with Yako touching him, though._

He laughed, and looked at Kanae and Mutsuki with a joyful face.

"Isn't that cute!" and he poked at her left cheek even more, hunching close to her face, happily cooing a cheerful, "It's lunch time, kitten!"

And as though he had said the magic words, warm brown eyes snapped open, and she was greeted by Neuro's smiling face.  
><em><br>__Great. What have I done now?_

* * *

><p>"It's a good thing the teachers allowed us to go home early, huh? Though they looked like they have seen a ghost the moment we entered. I wonder why."<p>

Neuro only huffed, his green eyes sharply looking out for any suspicious-looking vehicles and individuals as he walked hand in hand with Yako.

The kidnapping incident from when they were young had caused him to be more alert about his surroundings.

Yako didn't look like she was affected by the incident at all, though. It was as if she wasn't the one who got kidnapped nine years ago.

Yako's bloody overcoat had been stuffed in her bag. She had a surgical mask tied around her face, for obvious reasons.

They were crossing the streets now, and jade eyes saw a man donned in a thick black jacket as they were about to cross.  
><em><br>__It's not even snowing._

When the lights turned red, he jerked Yako away from the oncoming man, and went to the far side of the pedestrian lane to cross the street.

They made it to the other side safely and without harm.

"Neuro?"

"Don't ask, snail."

She grumbled. Even so, she did not let go of his hand.

* * *

><p>Yako had been sleeping for approximately two hours, ten minutes and five seconds.<p>

No, Neuro hadn't been watching her like a hawk.

He had called Zera earlier stating that he'd be "staying over the piglet's house", and that was over an hour ago.

He leaned on the headboard of Yako's bed, his feet had been shifting anxiously.

He was bored. He had nothing to do. He had already finished reading his current novel―that was now neatly resting in his bag―and Yako had yet to buy him new books.

He turned to his sleeping louse, who was still breathing through her mouth due to the cotton on her nostrils. He remembered how Yako's mother and father had been panicking since they had seen the condition of their daughter. Neuro scoffed.  
><em><br>__It wasn't like she was bleeding to death. _

He had told the Katsuragi couple that she fell down the school's stairway on their way to class.

She hadn't dared to correct him. In the end, Yako had been scolded for her clumsiness. She took it all with an awkward laugh and a scratch on her head.

And so here he was, staying over his maggot's house hoping to find some sort of entertainment.

And no, it wasn't because he had been worrying for her―the word "worrying" never existed in his vocabulary. Just thinking about that word made him sick to the stomach.

His eyes scanned the room, they landed on Yako's pink little desk filled with books.

He stood up and made his way to the desk, his eyes scanning over the titles with quick speed. Seeing the title that he deemed interesting, he took it out of the little shelf, and he scoffed as he shoved it back in its place.  
><em><br>__Romance novels. Feh. _

He took out the books one by one and checked all the titles, and shoved them all back in their proper places as soon as he saw the book covers.  
><em><br>__Romance novels. All of them. Tch. No wonder why she's so emotional of people. _

He looked on the desk to find more reading materials―_that's worthy of being read_―finally seeing none, he walked back to her bed and sat on the mattress.

He was bored.

And a bored Neuro had always been dangerous.

He could always check his school notes, but he had already read them twice during the time Yako fell asleep. He could always disassemble any gadget Yako had in her room, but that would mean that she has to replace them afterwards. Replacing them means spending money. Her money should be spent on his books. He discarded the thought of disassembling anything.

Obsidian-jade eyes looked at Yako again.

"Lazy louse. Keeping me waiting."

He poked her cheek. She grumbled.

"When will you wake up, stupid?" he asked her, even though he knew quite well that he never heard her. She was a deep sleeper like that.

Poking her cheek until it turned coral pink, he huffed as he looked away from her. He was bored. Yako always kept him entertained, but that blood loss made her weak, and inevitably leading her to her current slumber.

His eyes landed on his bag resting by the side of the bed, he reached for it and searched for his spare clothes. He already retrieved the shirt that Yako borrowed three weeks ago—

—_now is not the time to be thinking of that night._

He had always brought a spare set of clothes, because he knew that he always stayed over at Yako's house.

With one last look at the still sleeping girl, he walked out of her room.

* * *

><p>He slept in her room tonight. Or tried to sleep, anyway.<p>

Not that that was anything new.  
><em><br>__Besides, the bed is warm and― _  
><em><br>__―that infernal smell of strawberries is on my nose again. _

Neuro tried to look at Yako in the dimly lit room―thanks to the moonlight peeking in from the windows.  
><em><br>__Lazy slug didn't even wake up for dinner. That's odd. _

His fingers tried to feel Yako's pulse from her thin wrist.  
><em><br>__Still alive, I see. _

He checked her temperature.  
><em><br>__Seems fine to me._

He hovered his palm over her mouth.  
><em><br>__Still breathing. _

He checked the digital clock. Three o'clock in the morning.  
><em><br>__And I still can't sleep._

He rolled over to her side and closed his eyes, letting the familiar scent of strawberries fill his senses.

He had forgotten when he had wrapped an arm around her.

In his dazed, sleepless state, he barely felt a small hand clutching onto his shirt.

And all was black.

* * *

><p>The first thing that Neuro felt when he opened his eyes was that he felt refreshed.<p>

The second thing that Neuro felt was the welcoming beams of sunlight that greeted his face. It felt warm on his skin.

The third thing that Neuro felt was a tuft of light brown hair tickling onto his nose. He sniffled.  
><em><br>__How did she end up on me?_

With a groan, Neuro gingerly pushed Yako off of him, the act did little to wake her up.

His eyes glanced to the clock.

Nine-thirty in the morning. And it was a Tuesday.

He bolted out of her bed and rushed to the Katsuragi family kitchen.

The flurry of steps from the stairs made Haruka and Seiichi look up.

"Oh, Neuro, dear! You're awake! Good morning!"

"Good morning, son!"

A soft "good morning" was his response as he trudged in the kitchen. The floor felt cold to his socked feet.

"Um," Neuro began, his eyes looking at the ever happy couple. "Why didn't you wake us up, if I may ask?"

Straight to the point as ever.

Haruka, who was preparing the (so-called) meals on the table―_Why is the dish blue? And is that a live turtle in there?_―hummed at him as she smiled.

"Oh! I called the school and Zera-_chan _earlier telling them you two were sick. And it's true! When I checked up on you two earlier, Yako was still sleeping soundly on the other side and you were on the far side of the bed! And you looked quite cute when you're asleep, you know that?"

Neuro was―uncharacteristically―at a loss to what he say. _Should I be terrified that she saw me sleeping on their daughter's bed? Or should I be relieved she just practically allowed me on Yako's bed? Judging from her reaction, she didn't see Yako draped on me like a monkey earlier._

Seiichi flipped a page on the newspaper he was reading, his eyes not meeting Neuro's as he spoke, "Just as long as you don't do anything that might endanger my little girl's chastity, then you're free to sleep on her bed, but!" He slammed his newspaper on the table, making Haruka and Neuro jolt. He stood and marched his way over to him, glaring upwards and straight at Neuro's wide eyes.

"If I see you touching her on places where a young and _healthy_ unmarried man _shouldn't _be touching, then I'd say you better say goodbye to your manhoo―"

"Honey! You're scaring him!"

A flustered wave of hands, "No, it's fine, really―"

And the couple bickered. Neuro's eye twitched.

He observed the Katsuragi couple with a wide smile and with bright eyes.  
><em><br>__A strange thing. This thing they call a family._

* * *

><p>Yako, as soon as she woke up―at noon―had emptied the food stock within half an hour.<p>

Even so, she still complained that she was hungry.

"But you ate the month's worth of food! And yet you didn't even try my mock turtle soup! I even put in a live turtle to make it look nice!" Haruka exclaimed at the dazed-looking Yako.

Neuro blinked as he ate his share of food―some greens and eight slices of ham (_"So Yako won't eat your food!" _Haruka said).

So it was supposed to be a pot of soup, Neuro thought dryly.

Yako only sighed and eyed Neuro's plate.

"Say, Neuro―"

"Oh no, you won't, young lady! You won't eat your future husband's food until you get married!"

A unified, "Eh?" from both Neuro and Yako.

Haruka blinked as she regarded their reaction, "What? Did I say something?"

Yako only hit her head on the table.

"That cotton will fall off of your face if you keep doing that, silly!" Neuro chirped.

* * *

><p>"Here, there are many to choose from!"<p>

The clacking of shoes against the carpeted wooden floors resounded in the vast establishment.

Books of old and new alike, books of different categories to choose from. A public library.

Yako should have brought him here in the first place.

"Why have you never brought me here?"

"...Yeah. I ask myself that question, too."

Neuro went down from aisle to aisle scanning the sections. Yako trailed right behind him, her being the cart pusher.

Poor her.

"Neuro, I should tell you that there's a limit on how many books you can borrow."

"Up to?"

"Ten books."

"...Feh. Humans and their ridiculous rules. Then let me borrow books through your name, piglet."

"Don't speak like you're not one of us. And―oh. Yeah. Um. I've never thought of that. But why me?"

Neuro placed one book on the cart and moved onto the next aisle.

"Because you're with me, you imbecile."

"Ugh. Can I at least borrow one recipe bo―"

"No."

"Hmph. Stingy."

Another book placed on the cart.

And another.

And another.

"Neuro. These books look... heavy."

"Of course! I want to read them even if the text is thick. Besides, I won't be the one carrying that."

"...You heartless demon."

"Heh."

Yako pushed the now heavy cart with her tiny hands, eyes glaring daggers at Neuro's back.

"I can feel you glaring at me, maggot."

"Good. I intend to make you feel my wrath. And don't smile!" she exclaimed in a harsh whisper.

Moving to the fiction section, he grabbed five books and placed them on the cart.

"You got ten already?"

"Hn."

"Great! Now can I have a―what's that?"

Turning to Yako, he frowned, "What's what?"

Yako weakly pointed behind him. Raising his eyebrows, Neuro turned around to look at what had piqued his pillbug's interest.

"What? That's just a couple of fag girls."

"Um, Neuro. I don't think that's a couple of fag girls."

She let go of the cart and went over to the far side of the bookshelf.

("Yako!")

("What?")

("Get back here, you slug!")

She returned to where Neuro was, only to grab his hand and drag him with her.

He growled, "Yako...!"

"I'll take any punishment you'll give me, just let me―"

Yako took a peek from the corner of the shelf. And her eyes widened at the sight.

She covered her mouth as she gasped, and she hurriedly hid behind Neuro.

Neuro furrowed his brows at Yako's reaction. It couldn't be that bad.

("I told you it wasn't a couple of fag girls...!")

Curiosity heightened by her words, Neuro decided to take a peek. What could be so bad about seeing a girl kissing another―  
><em><br>__Definitely not a pair of fag girls. _

There, on the farthest and darkest side of the shelf, was a man and a woman kissing. No, it wasn't that Neuro hadn't seen a man and a woman kissing before—those sappy things they call movies made him believe that kissing is for people who either share a connection together or simply doing it for attention, crap like that.

It was their faces that made Neuro blink.  
><em><br>__Rotting Corpse Teacher and Glitters?_

* * *

><p>...I feel like this is a fail chapter. Dunno why. D:<p> 


	6. Vindicta

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six: Vindicta <strong>

* * *

><p>Yako took a peek once more, her eyes still wide. No, she didn't mind it at all that it was Neuro's hand covering her mouth to keep her silent.<p>

She just wished that he'd stop flicking his thumb—painfully—on her nose. It just healed! ...except for the ugly scabs it left behind. Good thing she still had a mask on.

Green eyes were wide and smiling in amusement, his grin face-splitting and shark-like.

That was definitely them, the huge bandage wrapped around that sweaty redhead's face was enough proof.

_Heh. So what that little dust mite said was true. This hag did look like half of her face was split. __  
><em>  
>Neuro felt a pair of hands scratching his sleeve.<p>

He loosened his hold a bit.

Then he felt it again.

_Oh._

He looked down at Yako, and saw that that breakable forefinger of hers had been trying to "write" on his sleeve. _So that useless thing you call a brain has finally made a début?_

Yako continued to spell out characters with her finger on his sleeve, all the while not taking off her eyes on the _still_ oblivious pair of—_horrible_—lovers.  
><em><br>__'Let's get out of here before they see us!' _Yako air-wrote.

Neuro only smirked.

* * *

><p>"Neuro! I can't believe you destroyed half of the library! It's the smallest public library here and you mercilessly ruined it! You didn't have to do that, you jerk! I told you that we should have just left them alone!"<p>

"Heh. It was an accident."

"Accident, my foot! You pushed that shelf! And the other shelves followed! Like dominoes! What if there were babies in there!"

"Hah! The children's books were in the second floor and you know it. The snot-nosed amoebas should be where the picture books are. Now stop complaining. Besides, I made sure no one other than those smelly and fishy creatures were there," and Neuro turned his back to her.

It was true. Neuro had, in fact, pushed six bookshelves packed with hardbound books towards Jody and Jennifer's direction while they were still—awfully—making out (_Isn't this illegal?_ Yako thought about both the student-teacher relationship and the shelf-pushing incident). He had done it all with that wide and maniacal smile of his. And Yako's observant eyes did see no one lurking or reading behind the shelves Neuro had pushed. But still...!

She grumbled as she struggled to walk with the two heavy bags on each of her tiny and reddened hands. Neuro had borrowed 20 books, just as he had planned, and he had made Yako carry all of the four bags, just as he promised. _What a gentleman._

As much as she wanted to argue with him, she cannot.

Yako saw him beaming brightly at her. Not good.

"Some bruises would do them just fine, I guess. Hopefully, some broken ribs and arms on their hideous selves could also appease my anger. Or maybe a ripped muscle in the legs. What do you think, Yako?"

Yako looked at him. And laughed.

"What?"

"Nothing! I think they deserve it if it angered you so much."

_I can never stay mad at him for a long period, can I?_

They returned to her house, hand in hand, voices as silent as the wind.

* * *

><p>It was a gray Wednesday, half past seven in the morning in Tokyo—<p>

—and it was raining.

"Yako! Nougami-_san_! You've returned!"

Yako laughed and fixed her slightly lopsided hair clip, "Of course we returned! We're still students here, after all!" Kanae smiled. Her best friend's face looked a lot better now than it did the other day—Neuro, too, but Kanae never commented on anything about his appearance; he might get the wrong idea. Yako's cheeks have returned to its normal and healthy pink glow. Her nose looked fine, too, save for the two tiny reddish scars on the edge of her nose. Kanae could only imagine what that blond man—who was happily draping his arms around Yako's shoulders, by the way—would do to the aggressive she-wolf if his shoe had (accidentally) knocked off her teeth instead.

Kanae shivered at the thought.

Yako didn't seem to notice it, though, as she was now too busy talking to a brightly smiling Neuro.

Kanae only smiled.

* * *

><p>When Neuro and Yako entered the room, the class was in a silent hush. No one dared to look their way as they walked towards their seat. Those who did try to glance at them ended up hastily bowing their heads and shivered at their desks.<p>

Yako glanced at Neuro as they sat.

He, too, had both of his eyebrows raised as he looked at the classroom from his tiny seat, curious at their change of behavior. Their submissive behavior was a far cry from their previous acts. Not that Neuro didn't like it, but it was strange, all in all.

Yako turned towards the board and twiddled with her thumbs and played with her bracelet. She looked at Mutsuki, and the little teenager's blank face at the rest of the class and her little shrug showed nothing to explain. Kanae had her finely-trimmed eyebrows slightly curved downward, too, at the strange atmosphere. Everything was as quiet as a cemetery. The sounds of the birds outside the windows were even louder than the students' breathing patterns.

The door opened, and in came Jody Tubulik.

All bandaged on both of his arms and legs, if the gaps in between his black slacks counted.

Even so, the class was deathly silent.

Neuro hid a wide smile and lightly nudged Yako's feet. She nudged him back.

Green eyes met black.

Neuro held a passive face, both hands placed neatly on the desk that was too small for him, and his back straight as he sat. The picture of a perfect student prepared to listen to the teacher's lectures.

Jody simply turned his back to the pupils and began to write the first lines of today's lesson in an excruciatingly slow manner.

Neuro's grin returned tenfold.

* * *

><p>It was on their second period—Mathematics—that their teacher, Honjou Fumio, had whispered something to Neuro's ear. He had nodded, then—and stood up, and dragged Yako with him outside of the classroom. She asked him where they were going. He said nothing.<p>

That little frown on his face made her worry, though.

* * *

><p>So here they were now, inside this big, white and yellow office with shiny windows and nice indoor plants. With the principal. And with this very large table between them and the principal himself. And with those plush and comfortable chairs.<p>

And Yako still has yet to know why Neuro had dragged her with him.

Her thoughts ran wild, from them getting expelled because of what Neuro did to that (_tramp!_) Scottish student, to her being suspended for the rest of the month because of once eating everything in the school cafeteria and leaving nothing for the rest of the student body.

_Maybe the staff told the principal about my eating habits and he now plans to—_

"Nougami-_kun_. Katsuragi-_chan_. I suppose you two don't know why you're here in my office, is that correct?"

They nodded stiffly.

The school's principal—a lanky, long-faced man who had a smile on his lips—had his elbows propped up neatly on the table. He was known for his calm demeanor, his enigmatic aura, and his love for all things felines. The man whose smile had made students bow down to his presence and approachability.

Hayasaka Hisanori.

Yako looked at those barely-open eyes. She vaguely wondered if he could actually see them.

The smiling man leaned back, elbows now resting on black armchairs. He regarded them carefully with calm eyes, and with a faint nod, he cleared his throat. Yako gulped from nervousness.

"The reason why you two are here is because of the incident I have heard of the other day in your classroom. Nougami-_kun_. Tell me, who attacked you first?"

He's not driving around the bush, Yako thought.

"Jennifer Ewing. Or so she said her name was."

Yako wanted to kick Neuro in the face for that answer.

The man nodded, still smiling, "And is it true, Katsuragi-_chan_, that you had gotten an injury from Ewing-_san_'s attack, and that injury has caused you to be sent home early on that day, and resulted in you missing the following school day?"

Yako blinked at the string of questions, not knowing where the conversation was heading, "Yes."

"Could you point to me where you had the injury? If you don't mind?"

Seeing nothing wrong with the request, and seeing as Neuro hadn't reacted violently yet, she decided that it was fine to answer.

"It's right here,"and she pointed near to her Cupid's bow. "But it doesn't hurt as much as the other day, though. Neuro immediately applied medicine on it," and she beamed. Beside her, Neuro blinked and smiled bashfully at the principal. Trying to look shy, Yako thought. _You two-faced imp._

Hisanori nodded and crescent-shaped eyes looked at Neuro, still stuck with that ever polite smile.

"So what I've heard from Mutsuki was right. You did take care of her, Nougami-_kun_."

Neuro scratched his head and bowed slightly, "Eh heh!"

Yako's eyes twitched. _He's good at this acting thing. And did the principal just call Mutsuki-tan by her first name?_

The principal hummed as he stood and walked over to them, hands placed behind his back. His gray-striped suit didn't match the smile on his face; and if Yako had never been used to Neuro's torture daily, she might have felt uneasy about being approached by this strange lanky man.

Neuro's little finger tapped Yako's hand twice. She looked at him from the corner of eye.

_Stay calm_, those green eyes seem to say to her.

With that look alone, she knew that that was a big encouragement from Neuro—even without his words.

* * *

><p>"Neuro."<p>

"Hm?"

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Tell you what?"

They were walking back to class now, her hand loosely held onto his, a somewhat barely hidden smile from her lips as she talked.

"Why didn't you tell me that you've been pulling the school's overall rankings? That principal practically put even hotter air in your already sky high ego with his words!"

"I'm surprised that you're not surprised. I think you know quite well who you're talking to. And please, the man was just stating the obvious."

Yako laughed, and its sound reverberated in the silent hallways—Neuro's ears were becoming too used to that lilting laugh. "Of course I know who I'm talking to. It's Nougami Neuro. The all too-proud and intelligent man with a fierce sadistic streak and a force to be reckoned with when mad."

He smirked, "That I am."

Minute fingers tightened onto large ones.

The small act didn't go unnoticed, "Something wrong, louse?" In response, she shook her head softly, humming as they walked. That little smile made Neuro—_almost_—stop at his tracks. He didn't let go of her hand, though.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong at all." _Are you falling for me, he always asks._

"Well, if nothing's really wrong with your dusty and empty head, we better hurry and return. Math just ended. It's time for your gluttony."

_Am I?_

* * *

><p>It was just a little after they had eaten their daily lunch on the school roof, that was currently damp due to the rain, and Neuro had made Yako spread out her spare jacket from her bag and had made her "sit" on all fours while she ate. Neuro had sat on her back while eating, stating that her back was "as warm as he liked it". Mutsuki had laughed at the girl's odd position on the floor. Kanae gaped at how calm Yako had looked while she was on all fours, with her elbows propped on the fabric of the jacket on the damp floor (while trying to eat and drink) and was being sat on by a smiling, gigantic man. He hadn't even bothered to let her take a proper seat!<p>

"Um, Yako?"

She turned to Kanae, her hand careful not to spill any milk tea on her overcoat. "Hm?"

"The question I asked you before, I—"

"Yako! We'll be late!"

"I'll be there in a minute, Neuro!" and she faced Kanae again—

—until she felt those familiar and painful digits stretching on her poor cheeks.

"Nonsense! You won't be coming down in a minute! I know as much that that is nothing but a lie, kitten! I'll be staying here, then, Miyasako-_san_ has left already," and he wrapped his arms around her frame and laid his head on her scalp with a wide smile and—_did he just purr?_

Kanae gulped and looked at the very content expression on Neuro's face. _He never leaves her alone, does he?_

She forced a smile. She was nervous. She was nervous of the fact that Neuro was now intently watching her from behind Yako's back, his joyful demeanour completely melted away as he looked at her with morbid curiosity―his head nuzzling the wheat-hued locks that belonged to Yako as he gazed upon her wavering brown stare.

Kanae wondered what he was thinking at this moment.

She coughed, and it caught their attention―Yako's attention, at least, as her concentration was constantly taken away by Neuro and his "cheek pinches of doom", as Yako once put it. The man had no problems with his attention span, that sharp mind of his could multi-task anytime and he wouldn't have to be confused with what he was doing.

"So, as I was saying. Yako and I have an important matter to talk about, Nougami-_san_. And I would appreciate it if you could―"

"You mean I can't listen to you two talking?"

"Neuro, I see no reason for you to eavesdrop on women talking, seeing as you're very much _not _a female―"

"...So I really can't listen in on you two?"

Yako peered at that nearly-crying face.  
><em><br>__Curse those eyes! _

Her eye twitched, and she looked at Kanae with a strained smile, desperately hoping those long digits weren't prying to wring her neck (again), "Um, Kanae-_chan_, can Neuro stay with me? He seems to be bent on not leaving me alone and stuff."

Her response was immediate, a hurried, "O-of course, Nougami-_san _can stay!" was squeaked out of her choked voice. And Kanae could see him nibbling Yako's earlobe, the latter turned red in an instant.

Yako tried to regain her crumbling composure under that distracting pair of fanged teeth. She could feel Kanae's eyes on her, and Yako willed away the feeling of the soft tingles and rivulets of sweet torture on her bitty ear.

"Neuro, not now, you dummy―"

Surprisingly, he obeyed.

Until he tightened his hold on her and nuzzled her close.

"Nougami-_san _is clingy today, I see," Kanae hesitantly uttered, and she was forced to look away from that searing green-eyed stare.

"But he's always clingy Kanae-_chan_. The last time he―"

"The last time I clung onto her and nibbled her ear, she bit my neck—"

"That's not a part of this conversation, you dolt! And you had bitten me first!"

"I wouldn't have bitten you if hadn't just plopped on my bed with that look on your face―"

"_What!_ What look?"

"That look. The look where you looked like you were about to devour me―"

"_Devour you? _Since when did that happen―"

"Since you wore those silly things you call mini clothes. Really, tempting me with those things you wear―"

"Don't just blurt out things that might be easily misunderstood, you ass! And I told you that Aomi-_san _didn't give me a chance to change that night!"

By now, Kanae had her face turning beet red from what she was hearing. No, she really didn't seem to understand what they were trying to talk about. It was like the two of them talked with words that only the two of them could understand. And it somehow irritated her.

"Um, Yako? I've been meaning to ask you this since three weeks ago," she began, and she almost squeaked as their attention returned to her. "—and I just want to know," she scratched her arm, nervous. "―well, now that Nougami-_san _is also here, I can ask you as well―"

The curious honeyed and emerald gaze sent her way got her all riled up.

"What happened between you two on a Friday night three weeks ago? I mean, if it's not too much of a trouble to tell―"

It was Yako who was the first to respond as her face flamed red (and she blamed those fingers pinching her cheeks), "What! This again? Kanae-_chan_, I swear nothing happened―"

"Oh, nonsense, Yako! You know that's not true! Don't lie to her! Yako's friend, as much as I would _love _to tell you all of the dirtiest details―"

"What dirtiest details, you ass―"

"I simply cannot tell you! You see, what happened between Yako and I on that night―"

"Nothing happened!"

"―will remain between us. And only between us alone." A deep chuckle was heard from the tall blond, and without looking at his face, Yako could quickly tell that he was smirking, those green eyes might have probably narrowed, those irises becoming large and wide for their beautiful shade to be seen. Yako was proud she was able to imagine what he might have looked like at this very moment.

A soft hush of warm air tickled the shell of Yako's ear. It was a whisper, meant only for her to be heard, but loud enough for Kanae to overhear.  
><em><br>__"I refuse to let any outsiders butting in on matters that involve Yako and I."_

His cheerful smile returned.

And it was the first time that Kagohara Kanae realized that Nougami Neuro was a very possessive man. Through his words alone, she could tell that he wanted Yako all to himself. He looked like the type of man who would never share what he had marked as "his". And the strange thing was that Yako had never looked bothered by his behavior at all. If all factors were to be considered―him letting her call him by his first name when others wouldn't, him letting her touch him when he wouldn't let others lay a finger on his skin, her always following him around without complaint, him always saving her for every trivial thing―she was all right with his treatment to her.

She's in safe hands, was what Kanae thought.

"I have nothing to worry about, after all!" she finally said with a bright smile and a little hop as she mulled over her thoughts, which made Yako and Neuro hum in unison. Kanae only laughed.

"You two will go a long way, I can tell," and she patted Yako's back as she retreated to the door on the roof, her lunch box in tow as she closed the door.

Yako mulled over her best friend's words with a tiny frown, and was about to call on her when she felt her cheeks were being pinched at an impossible strength.

"Snail, we better go back to class. That little chit-chat between you and your friend had drained me of my intelligence, and I need to replenish it."

Yako huffed as she retrieved her lunch boxes, "It's not my fault if you suddenly decided to stay."

"My decision was not sudden. That air-filled head of yours could get quite contagious to other people. I was only looking out for the better of humanity."

"Whatever, Neuro."

"Heh."

She closed the door leading to the rooftop, Neuro trailed behind her, widely smiling all the while.

"Though I still wonder why she'd go to great lengths to ask me that question. I mean, frankly, it's not even her business."

"Then why didn't you tell her off?"

The question caught her off-guard, and Yako was sure that Neuro knew the answer to his question.

"She's my friend. I can't just tell her to back off on affairs that doesn't involve her. That's just plain rude."

"Hmph. What she's doing is quite rude, too, if you ask me. Her coming in and barging in and asking unnecessary questions that you _clearly _don't want to answer. What does she want to hear from you anyway? That we had sex? Psh. That wouldn't happen in a million years."

"I don't know if I should feel offended by that. You said it as if the idea of me being close to you sounded so disgusting."

"Take it any way you want, pig. As if I would care about that."

"You heartless bastar—"

"But if I should snatch away your virginity, I think I might be throwing away all of my self-control to the wind should I happen to do just that."

"Eh?"

Yako's voice was caught in her suddenly parched throat as she looked at those almost glowing ethereal green eyes—_and just what on earth did he mean by that statement? _And that smile!

She could swear she felt her heart stop at that smile.

No, she would not fall for this man. This man who had her very existence wrapped around his slim middle finger—!

"Oho? What's with that look you're giving me, Yako?"

His face got close, too close—to her face—

—a sense of déjà vu.

"Could it be that you're falling for me?"

The only reply he got was his chin meeting with one of her lunch boxes covered in silk cloth.  
><em><br>__That went as expected._

* * *

><p>They were back in the room, and the hush of silence returned as Neuro and Yako opened the door.<p>

The noise was there when they haven't opened it.

And where was Kanae when you needed her?

"Neuro-_sama_! Yako-_sama_! W-welcome back!"

The welcoming they recieved was not what Yako had expected. What's with all this reverence being thrown with her name?

She glared at Neuro, who looked twice as stunned as she was.  
><em><br>__He knows nothing, then._

* * *

><p>An earful of praise. A mountain-high amount of attention slathered onto her—and him. And it drove Yako mad.<p>

A boy, whose name she didn't really remember, spoke to her as he bowed, "Yako-_sama_, I have polished your desk to perfection! I even put my coat on your area of the floor so your shoes won't get dirty!"

She blinked.

A girl, with black hair and a face she could barely remember, offered her notebooks with scribbles on them, "I copied all the notes yesterday, Yako-_sama_! So you won't have to miss any lectures!"

"Uh, thank y—"

Another girl came up to her and dragged a large sack behind her, "I bought some rice with me. Maybe Yako-_sama _would like it so she can cook it up at home—"

"—Idiot! Yako-_sama_'s hands will be damaged if she brings her hands to the kitchen! You should have brought her cooked rice and mirin instead!"

Yako swallowed her curses to these people she called her "classmates". _What's up with these people!_

"Oh, Neuro-_sama_! We bought you some novels that you would definitely like!"

"Here's some hair gel, Neuro-_sama_! To make you look even more attractive!"

"Neuro-_sama_! You can use me as your chair!"

It was then that Yako turned around to see Neuro sitting on his seat, looking close to growling and ripping off someone's skull from its flesh. She was sure that's what he was thinking. _It's what I'm thinking, anyway!_

"Neuro-_sama_, I really love your eyes! Are you a foreigner? You have to be a foreigner with those gorgeous eyes!"  
><em><br>__He's losing his composure! And someone's holding his shoulder!_

Before she knew it, Yako had sprung to her feet and jumped in between the small group of girls and Neuro.

She was doing this for the safety of everyone. When Neuro gets angry, no one has ever been spared from his wrath, as far as Yako could tell. It was a good thing she had never been an object for Neuro's bouts of anger. She planned to keep it that way.

"Break it up, people! Break it up!"

"Yako-_sama_?"

As if cued, Neuro, who had looked like he was about to throw everyone to the window a few seconds ago, hid himself behind Yako's small back, sniffling as he did so.

_Those wide, innocent eyes are on me again._

"The bad people were giving me strange things, Yako!"

She sighed as she patted his head—just for show. _Again with your drama._

"Everyone, I don't know what has come over you, but please stop it with the unneeded attention you're lavishing on us! It's annoying!" Yako finally said as another girl tried to wipe the sweat forming on her brow.

Neuro only whimpered from behind her and quivered. The utterly perfect picture of (mock) innocence painted on his façade. Trust him to leave everything to her when things start to be an inconvenience for him. That clever man.

"But Yako-_sama _needs to recover from her wounds!" piped one faceless girl. Yako had to keep her words in check unless she wanted the wrath of everyone in this room, minus Neuro, of course. She still had a handful of people who hated her for being able to talk freely to Neuro and all.

"Oh, but have you forgotten that not too long ago, _you_ were one of the people who had spread rumors about her? What was it about again? Something about her being a nuisance around me, was it? Is that not a form of "wound"? A wound that _you_ have caused?"  
><em><br>__Neuro's back from his faux innocent attitude, it seems._

The faceless girl was speechless.

"And you, you yelling man over there. Weren't you the one who called her a tramp two weeks ago? Simply because she was with me all the time? What's your basis for calling her such a degrading name?"

His middle finger was being pointed freely at people's faces again, _his__ temper's about to burst_, "Wait, Neuro, don't be so rash—"

"And _you_, you slithering lump of human waste. Weren't you the one who was always with that walking disco ball since school started? Why the sudden change of heart?"  
><em><br>__Disco ball, he says._

The class was speechless. It was him and her against a whole classroom of people who have been acting strangely since this morning.

"So what have you been planning, you wriggling bunch of worms?"

Trust Neuro to make a lot of enemies with that boisterous mouth of his.

There was a soft hush that swept the room, an onslaught of murmuring voices that met Yako's ears.

"Hayasaka-_san _ordered it," one student finally said.

Yako took a step back, the space around her feeling quite claustrophobic. The urge to hide behind Neuro was getting stronger by the second. Her lip slightly trembled. The principal ordered this madness?

A hand had wrapped around her, and she knew quite well it was Neuro's, those sharp little beads on his wrist told her so.

"Neuro-_sama _is an important figure in this school, you see," said one boy, his head bowed throughout as he spoke. "He brings out the best of this school from its ash-filled beginnings and he pushes the school's rankings to the top, something that had never been achieved for the past three decades, and he had managed to do it within less than a month, and—"

She tried to regain her calm, and Yako breathed the air filled with tension, "So you're saying that he is to be treated with utmost respect, is that it?"

The hush of whispers continued, and they seemingly roared on Yako's ringing ears. The sound grated on her nerves.

"Hayasaka-_san_ said that Neuro-_sama_ and Yako-_sama _are to be treated with the highest respect in the school because of their contributions to the institution."

Yako blanched. _Contributions?_

The rustle of the classroom door opening knocked Yako out of her stupor, and her hazel eyes landed on Mutsuki's smiling face.

"Mutsuki-_tan_!"

"Oh, you're back, _nee-chan_! Neuro-_nii_! Hayasaka-_san _called me, he said he'd be thrilled to have you two staying here, as late as it is to say it."

Yako grumbled and pouted as she faced Neuro's blankly grin, "He could have told us that when we were in his office."

"Maybe he must have forgotten it," Mutsuki piped with a smile as she sat on her chair, ignoring all the stares fixated on her back. She was used to it, anyway.

Yako stared at her classmates, then at Neuro's surprisingly passive face. He had held her hand throughout his earlier rant to the class, and he showed no signs of letting her hand go just yet.

She sighed. _Just another strange day for me._

* * *

><p>Neuro had dropped her off by her house at three-thirty in the afternoon, as per usual, and as she expected, he made the impromptu decision to stay over for the night. Not that that wasn't strange at all. He had always invited himself over at the Katsuragi residence for the past nine years that they've known each other, and it was a regular occurence in the household. At one point, Haruka made it a task to buy Neuro a toothbrush—a blue one—and a pair of fluffy, blue slippers, so that he wouldn't have to bring his stuff over at their house all the time.<p>

Needless to say, Neuro was pleased with Haruka's acts of hospitality.

"You know what, the only thing that's missing is for you to move into this house," grumbled a complaining Yako from across the hall. She had just finished eating her feast of a dinner (midnight snack, as what she called it), and was now dressed in her sleepwear—a pair of pink shorts that reached her mid-thigh and a matching frilly pink top that covered little of her upper arms.

She plopped onto her side of the bed and turned off her night light and waited for his response. None came. She wasn't expecting him to be asleep until exact midnight strikes the clock, and it was only half past eleven. His sleeping habits have improved, as Yako carefully observed. His barely noticeable eyebags have diminished within the past few days.

"You know what," he suddenly chimed, a little too happily for Yako's sense of hearing, and she was sure a blank smile was plastered on his face again—based on that tone of voice.

"I'm thinking of doing just that. Me moving in this house."

It was at this comment that had her turning to his side as quickly as possible, her brown eyes wide and her mouth agape despite him not seeing her expression, "No, Neuro. That was just a joke. A joke!"

He laughed. He loved seeing her getting all riled up. He really didn't mean what he just said—for now.

She waited for a few moments for him to stop laughing. She could then hear the shuffling of skin against cloth after a few seconds, and a long arm had snaked its way onto Yako's torso, trapping her from within its warm and firm grasp. Neuro's breath fanned over her face. The warmth was welcoming, and he smelled of peppermint. She closed her eyes.

How long have they been doing this again? Seven years? Nine? She had long lost count on this little act—him always embracing her at night. No matter how many insults they throw at each other's faces during the day, they always ended up huddled close whenever they sleep. She wondered where and when it all began, this little habit of theirs; and whenever she would try to rummage through her memories, she had always gotten none. He had no reason to touch her the way he did at night—  
><em><br>__—and yet he does._

Yako had long deemed their relationship a strange one, one that looked bizzare to most people and yet the most normal to them.

_I mean, I don't know many men and women who have slept together for years and yet nothing had ever happened between them. And this has been going on for almost a decade now! I'd say this is a record! __  
><em>  
>She felt giddy, for some reason, and her hand had wound its way around his ribs, onto his broad back, and clutched onto the thin fabric of his shirt. She willed her mind to sleep.<p>

"Snail, you're thinking too much."

In response, she muffled her words on his shirt, a habit that she had yet to overcome. She blamed him for it.

He smiled, she could feel it through her scalp, those thin lips widening the slightest as his hand weaved through her locks.

She rarely saw this side of him. Frankly, it was the first time she ever saw him like this, all calm and gentle and all things that he wasn't when the start of a new day comes. _Maybe it's because it's night?_

Either way, she cherished this, this rare gentle side of the sadistic man. At the back of her mind, she wished he was like this all the time. Then again—  
><em><br>__—I would get freaked out if he were like this all the time. I have already gotten used to his bouts of sadism._

"I'm not thinking too much," she mumbled as her hold on his shirt tightened. She blamed that cologne of his—making her feel weird at the strangest of places.

"Says the girl who has been squishing her face on my shirt for the past few seconds—"

"Shut up. Blame your stupid cologne."

"My preference for choosing a scent of cologne is not the one to blame in this situation, is it? Blame your hormones that you can't control."

In return, she nuzzled her head further into his shirt, mumbling incoherently all the while.

He only smiled at her reaction.

* * *

><p>They were greeted with strange greetings on this fine Thursday morning. A strange "Good day!" from one of their classmates. An even stranger "Greetings, Neuro-<em>sama<em>, Yako-_sama_" was heard from one of the girls. She only exchanged looks with Neuro, and his face was filled with apathy, not that she was expecting much.

"Strange humans and their stranger customs," she heard him mumble. And she couldn't agree more.

* * *

><p>Jody had been struggling with his multiple casts for some time now, and it was becoming a hindrance to his lessons. He couldn't even turn the pages of the textbook properly because of the thick bandages that were wrapped around his fingers!<p>

And this amused Neuro to no end at all. The only thing that kept him from bursting out laughing was that tiny foot that kept nudging him from beneath the desk.

Nevertheless, this hadn't dampen Neuro's mood. Seeing the Biology teacher suffer right in front of his students was enough to make him laugh.  
><em><br>__Plus, that glittering human waste of space is not here. What more could I ask?_

* * *

><p>Neuro had been humming as he read in the school library, one of the books he borrowed the other day nestling peacefully in his hands. Yako stealthily ate a hamburger, her eyes keen on looking out for any tattle-tale students that might be looking at them at this very moment. She had chosen to sit with Neuro in the farthest corner of the library for the sole purpose of eating in peace. He had complied to her wishes then, stating that "her lonely brain cell was duplicating in the slowest way possible." And that's the closest thing he could ever say for praising someone.<p>

The people in their class have been restless, often giving food to Yako like they were offering food to a god. Not that she was complaining, but the tiny space on her desk had been piling up with various types of food, and she was sure that once they returned, her desk would be brimming with said food.

She groaned.

"Too much thinking on your part will result in the inevitable frying of your useless brain cell, worm. Thinking is my job, not yours," and he turned a page of his book. Something about the mysteries of Ancient Egypt.

She chewed on her burger, and her eyes roamed as she silently drank on her soda.

"We couldn't even eat on the rooftop today because of those jerks prowling on our grounds. And those people on the track team and the calligraphy club were getting on my nerves. I mean, why do they want you on the track meet, anyway? Because you have those insanely long legs that could smash me to the wall? And what's with those weird people from the calligraphy club? Surely they wanted you in because they knew that you could decipher anything, but still! Trying to shove their way in our classroom is no way to coax you into joining them!" she ranted harshly as she crumpled the burger wrapper and dumped it in her bag, her hands pulling out another burger as she did so. It was her fourth hamburger, and Neuro was quick to insult her about the "fat accumulating on her already stout thighs". She ignored him and opted to kick him in the shins, instead.

"Heh. That smiling slug's plan is working quite well. And please, like _I _would join those lower-than-rats, those mangy sacks of dirt that don't even deserve a sliver of my attention. I'd rather look at my toes. I find more charm in them."

She gulped and sipped on her soda, opting not to laugh at his last statement, "What do you mean?"

"He doesn't want me to leave this place. All because of that ranking shit. Damn worm wants me to be cooped up here like a chicken."

"So what does that have to do with me? I mean, why put me up with you?"

"He must have known that I won't go anywhere without you. If that sorry excuse for a human would dare let another sorry excuse for a human touch you, I'd slice up his head with my nails."

Yako twitched at the mental image he had given her. _Sadistic bastard._

She finished up her fastfood meal in 20 minutes flat—a grand total of 25 hamburgers and five sodas served to fill up half of her stomach, at least—and by the time Neuro had finished reading his book, they still had time to spare. Five minutes until next class, said the clock on the wall.

Yako sniffed her bag. It smelled of ketchup and mustard and all things that reminded her of greasy fastfood restaurants. She grimaced.

"Neuro, I think we should head ba—"

She was silenced by a pair of fingers clamping onto her lips.

"Ssh."

And she knew what he meant.

He let go of her once he deemed that she understood the situation, and his seemingly luminiscent green eyes roamed the library's interiors, his smile knowing and proud.

"Neuro—"

"Ssh."

He led her to one of the corners, holding her hand as he dragged her to one corner of the library, where they could hear hushed voices from behind one of the shelves.  
><em><br>__Why does this feel like this scene happened before?_

Yako snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Neuro happily cooing at some people hidden from her field of vision. "Eeh—That's illegal, isn't it? Trying to sniff coke in the middle of the class!" piped Neuro from behind one of the shelves. He donned that deceptively naïve smile as he spoke, completely ignoring the death glares being sent on his way.

So Yako tugged insistently on his uniform as soon as she saw the faces of whom Neuro was trying to talk to, the tiniest hint of a tear making its presence known from one of her wide brown eyes as she grumbled on. _I don't want to die yet, you idiot! They look dangerous!_

"Whaddya want, ya punk?" growled a young man from the floor (who was picking on his nose, by the way, much to Yako's disgust). This part of the library was well-concealed by the large bookshelves and the looming portraits of the previous school heads hanging on the walls, and it was near the fire exit—a perfect place for doing shenanigans, as what Yako mentally dubbed.

Her hand found its way to Neuro's sleeve, and she hid herself behind him.

"I just want to know if you personally know the principal. Oh, and I was talking to the other person, not you, bleached man."

Yako wanted to slap Neuro in the face for his words. Too bad she couldn't properly reach his face without having to stand on her tiptoes. The tall bastard.

"Yeah? What do you want me for, Green Eyes? Can't ya see we're busy?"

She could hear Neuro chuckling—something that he does whenever he's pissed—and he tilted his head to one side, that wide smile never leaving his face as he spoke.

"Oh, don't mind us. We're not here to join you in on your quest to slow suicide, believe me on that! It's just that, I want to know why the principal's own brother is seen here, huddling, in one sad and dusty corner of the school's library, with nothing but a tiny bottle of hallucinogen powder and some sad excuse for a company of human companions as instruments to talk to! I never thought I'd see the day!"

Yako groaned. _What is it with you and your way with words?_

The man with the bleached hair stood up roughly as he wiped his hands on his slacks, and tried to glare at Neuro's smiling façade. It did little to deter him, though. This man's height was way inferior compared to Neuro's—and he had always been proud of his height, a whooping five feet and ten inches, and counting.  
><em><br>__And he's not even 18 yet!_

Yako peered from behind Neuro's long arm. It was a wonder a fistfight hadn't occurred yet, seeing as this irate-looking man seemed to be the type that always had his fists knocked up on men's throats. She looked away when she met his eyes, all the while, she kept on tugging on Neuro's sleeve. Frankly, she didn't know why he decided to butt in on other people's business, as it was usually not Neuro's way of thinking—not to mention he thought of meddling on other's affairs as akin to gossiping, something that he couldn't quite understand no matter how many times Yako explained the concept to him.  
><em><br>__But if it meant dragging me along with him, then this must have something to do with our lives._

"Whaddya want with the boss, ya freak?" slurred the man with the bleached hair. Yako idly wondered if his face always had that scowl. That could be bad in his later years in life—_that is, if he could reach that stage in life_.

"I only want to ask a few questions!" Neuro cheerfully beamed as he eyed the platinum-haired male on the library floor. Said male only sniffed the remaining powder in the bottle and crushed the container with his hands. He glared at Neuro. Neuro smiled back—and Yako whimpered as she felt those unfamiliar eyes on her person. Being stared at by Neuro had always been fine with her (as she was already used to it), but being stared at by other men seemed to make her whole body itch—and not in a good way.

She noted that Neuro had removed her from the sanctuary of his broad back, and had placed her in front of him, for these unknown men to see.

She then felt a pair of arms loosely encircling her shoulders, those large hands resting and hovering over her chest as she felt the familiar feeling of Neuro's chin resting on top of her head, his lips smiling throughout, and that touch had never felt so welcoming in her entire life.

"What questions?" the platinum-haired one asked, and Yako could feel an unwelcomed pair of eyes swallowing her whole.

Neuro's hold on her tightened.

"What manner of scheme is Hayasaka Hisanori planning? I'm quite sure that you, at least, know something has been going on in this school. And besides, I know that you know that your brother knows your little vice. A fair trade, if you ask me. I'll give you more of that powder you so aptly love, in exchange for the information you and your brother withholds. What do you say?"

He stood, his white shoe stepping on a fallen and well-burnt cigarette stick, his eyes roamed on Neuro's face, searching for something.

Yako buried her back within Neuro's chest, not liking the way this unknown man stared at her at all.

_And what do you mean you have that kind of powder, Neuro!_

* * *

><p>"Are you sure it's okay to give them that? I mean, that's not a fair trade at all!"<p>

"Hmph. They seem to be sniffing it just fine. They won't know the difference."

"But it's only the younger Hayasaka who sniffed it. The man who kept on picking his nose—well, he only picked on his nose and chugged on some beer. I wonder how they haven't been discovered yet."

"Which is why I say there's no difference. He's the only one who keeps on sniffing flour and talc dashed with gunpowder and Angel's Trumpet essence. I think that's what it smelled like, anyway. Not that I cared for whatever consequences that may befall on them. His sense of smell seems to be as dull as your brain."

"...What's with the insult at the end? And doesn't Angel's Trumpet cause hallucinations? Where did you get that?"

In the end, Yukinori—as they have learned his name was—have told them everything they wanted to know, in exchange for the "hallucinogens" that he so loved.

Apparently, Hisanori wanted Neuro to stay in the school—not that he had been planning to transfer, Yako would know it firsthand, anyway—and it seems that the nearby school had their eye on him, and wanted to get their hands on Neuro as well. It was what he had planned in the beginning, that principal. To make Neuro "feel at home" so he wouldn't have to leave the institution. And in the end, Neuro didn't care for such "trivial things as school transfer", as they would only cause him unnecessary headaches.

That was a relief for Yako. At the back of her mind, she wouldn't know how she would function without him, as they had done everything together for almost all of their lives. She just couldn't picture herself without him.

Absentmindedly, she held onto his hand tighter than necessary. Neuro noticed it, but said nothing as they made their way back to class.

And they still have a minute left before class starts.

* * *

><p>They haven't heard of Jennifer the whole day. Not that Yako herself would bring up that topic. It seemed to be a taboo these days, mentioning her name. She wondered what had happened to the buxom girl. Had she ended up like the teacher? She had been meaning to ask Kanae about it, but the girl was too busy planning on another group date, and this time, with the people from the next classroom. <em>What's up with her and her man-hunting hobby, anyway? Didn't Higuchi-san satisfy her? Did they break up already? Did she know about the incident at the hot springs? Did he tell her about it? Did he even feel guilty about what he had done? And where's the ramen stand Neuro told me about?<em>

She held onto his hand as they walked, and Neuro looked like the perfect picture of calmness and contentment, and she didn't know why.  
><em><br>__Probably because he's too happy on seeing the teacher all bandaged up like a mummy._

Neuro led her to the ramen stand, as he promised, and paid for one bowl, as he promised, in exchange of 50 white puzzles that she "was supposed to buy a week ago".

Yako's wallet cried as she purchased the puzzles he wanted.

"That's unfair. You're only paying for one bowl when you know quite well that I eat at least ten bowls!"

"Heh, say that to my hand."

She pouted and glanced at her watch. Four o'clock. Rush hour starts at five at the train station. She glanced at his smiling face as he ate. _Still smiling that content smile, I see._

"Something on my face, maggot?"

"Nothing's on your face," and she ate silently, eyeing him from the corner of her eye. She smiled as she slurped on the hot soup.

"You staying over for the night?" Yako asked after finishing her fifth bowl of ramen. She was about to eat her sixth bowl when he answered her.

"I guess. At this hour, people would start swarming in on the trains like the lesser animals that they are. Forcing my way in would be just as troublesome as it is rushing to get a seat and trying not to smell like fish and rotten meat," and he took his seventh bowl. Looking closely, him and Yako would be swallowing buffets in no time if they eat together. He was just as much of a glutton as she was—_he's just too proud to admit it_.

She nibbled on the toppings of her ramen, "So you'd rather stay over at my place than to cram your way in a train just to get home?"

"Of course. It's not like I have someone waiting for me back in that cold place, anyway."

Yako stopped chewing on her food. _I'm stepping on dangerous ground here._

"But Aomi-_san _is probably cooking meals for you every night while waiting for you to come home."

"Hmph. That thing will only worry if I don't call the house telling him I'm fine. Besides, I always come home, right?"

Yako was at a loss of words from what he just said. _What he meant by that, does he mean what I think it means?_

Neuro was silent as he ate, that ever calm smile etched on his thin lips as he chewed on his noodles.

* * *

><p>Friday. The day that most students look forward to. The start of weekends and their so-called rest days.<p>

For Yako, each school day seemed to be getting stranger and stranger. For Neuro, everyone was as a nuisance to him since the day he entered this school. That theory of his got cemented as he saw a familiar figure leaning by the school's entrance.

"Neuro-_sama_, Yako-_sama_," and the female student (Jennifer, as Yako looked closely) bowed and knelt in front of him and Yako—effectively making a few heads turn their way. Yako was getting close on considering on stepping on her face if it meant that this Scottish person would leave them alone.

_Her uniform is properly buttoned today, I see. Not that it would change much on how I view her. Still, maybe there's some kindness in her? And is that a cast on her neck? Oh? Is that a huge bandage on her face? I'm starting to think of adding a new one to her face if she won't move from where she's standing—_

As Yako contemplated on her thoughts, she felt her arm getting dragged away by an irritated Neuro.

He ignored Jennifer's pleas to push her hard to the ground.

* * *

><p>Him lying onto her lap was a rare occurrence, if Yako observed closely. In fact, such a thing had never happened between them at all, until now.<p>

He must be feeling tired, was what Yako thought as she idly threaded her fingers through his hair. It was a lazy day today, with the people preparing for the school festival and all. She had escaped with him to the rooftop—just as the people around them had started to suffocate them with greetings—just so she could eat in peace, and for him to be able to read in a silent environment. Kanae had plans to make as the class president, and Mutsuki went home early to check up on her ailing grandfather, leaving the two of them alone to eat.

Neuro had finished reading his current novel, and was now lazing about on Yako's lap, stating that she should make herself useful for once. She obeyed with little complaint.

The breeze of the May wind swept through their locks, and Yako was glad her hair clips kept her hair in place, despite the wind trying to muss up her short tresses.

Neuro had no problem with his hair, though. She had been smoothing it for the past ten minutes. Plus, he had been napping on her lap, thus making the wind's efforts to ruin his hair end in vain.

His hands were resting on the covers of the novel, his arms resting on his torso as he slept. Yako pulled his head closer to her, just in case his head should loll to the ground.

She was becoming more and more aware of the weight on her thighs as the seconds passed, and her thumb ran lazy circles on his scalp as she gazed at the sky.

_I want to sleep, too._

Yako stretched her arms upwards, smiling at the birds that flew by. It was a rare chance to enjoy this little piece of nature. With Neuro having to constantly breathing down her neck (in both literal and metaphorical sense), she had lost the time to appreciate the little things in life. The sounds of the birds singing as they flew, the fluttering of the stray cherry blossom petals from the school grounds, the soft hush of the wind that caressed her face, the endless blue sky, the clouds that vaguely reminded her of cotton candy, the sound of Neuro's soft breathing―

Yako looked at his peaceful expression. If only he looked like this all the time, she mused. His sleeping face was void of any maliciousness, his lips drawn into a barely there smile and his high cheekbones relaxed in its dream-filled state―now, if only Yako could take a picture of this expression of his―

She smiled as her fingertips idly touched his marbled face, her other hand draped loosely on his arm. It was an almost romantic scene, Yako mused. An almost romantic scene that Neuro ruined the moment he opened his eyes and grabbed the hand that touched his face.

"What do you think you're doing, Louse?"

"I'm touching your face," she deadpanned. No sense in trying to lie through her teeth now. Though in reality, she jolted when she saw those evergreen eyes staring right into her. _Why do you have to ruin everything, you dummy?_

"Yes, yes, I can tell that. What I meant is, if I should rephrase my question, 'What was that germ-filled hand doing, so boldly touching my face?'"

"I just wanted to touch it," she pouted.

"On impulse, you mean?"

She nodded. He laughed. Yako groaned at his reaction. Trust him to ruin everything the moment he opens his mouth.

Ethereal green locked onto honey brown eyes, and Yako could feel the ghost of his touch on her warm skin.

"I guess it's only fair to say that I'll be returning the favor? Since that jerky touching of yours led me to awaken my senses, thus leading me to actually waking up and effectively disrupting my precious sleep."

She said nothing as his forefinger played on a stray strand of her wheat-hued hair, and she fought with herself not to close her eyes and lean into that soothing touch.

"Yako. You of all people should know what disrupting my sleep means."

A thumb kissed her right cheek, and the moment she closed her eyes, that very same thumb had stroked her dry lips, and it tried to probe its way on the insides of her mouth. The act made her eyes open just the slightest. Curiosity flared in her brown orbs, and Neuro was all too happy to fill in that curiosity.

He tapped her lips twice with his thumb, and she closed her eyes as she let that finger invade her mouth. It was what he wanted to convey, anyway.

The two of them were crossing a bridge that promised uncharted and thorny territories. There was no turning back.

Warnings blared in Yako's befuddled mind, and she paid them no heed as that thumb probed the insides of her moist mouth. She weakly opened her eyes, and was not surprised to see his emerald eyes boring into hers.

And the last thing she remembered was Neuro hovering way too close to her lips, all sense of wariness for the indecent display of her mouth being offered to him crushed to bits as he whispered the familiar words to her now hypersensitive skin.  
><em><br>__"Are you falling for me?"_

She couldn't remember when he had stopped talking, as he had already swallowed her words by the time she had processed trying to comprehend his spoken thoughts and decided to properly reply―his teeth, lips, tongue and thumb probing into her mouth and all.

Neuro merely smiled in her warm and moist orifice, her eagerness to respond had melted into a quivering mess of grumbled groans and gasps.

He could swear that somewhere along the lip-locking he was giving her, that she responded an incoherent and hazy "yes", and hearing that alone was enough to make Neuro grin in glee.

* * *

><p>To vampire-fetish15, how did you know that I was about to put up a kissy scene? XD Though, originally, yes, I had planned them to kiss in this chapter, but not on the school's rooftop, of all places. I originally planned it on their way home after seeing Sicks and Genuine eating each other's faces out in the library, and it had involved Yako crying in the end and Neuro being the ass that he is. It all went downhill from there. XD I guess this scene is not a bad idea―if the readers will like it, that is. :D<p> 


	7. Novo

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N: **To vampire-fetish15: Um. Second base? Nah, I don't think they'd be too much in a hurry. They can take things slowly. XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Novo <strong>

* * *

><p>Sixteen years. Sixteen years, two months and five days. It had been that long.<p>

It took her that long for a male to kiss her full on the lips. And with lots of tongue, too!

She never expected her first kiss to be with Neuro, though.

Things were becoming too hazy for her muddied mind to process, sounds becoming muffled and mute, the colors blinding her to blackness—and _greengreengreen_!

She couldn't remember when she had been lying on the ground.

That pair of fanged teeth and that—_oh sweet mercy_—tongue were doing wonders to her mouth.

Was that a sliver of saliva running down her cheek?

...It probably was, judging from his incessant want to take control of everything in her mouth.

Not that she was complaining. (_Was that from me, though? Or was that trickle of drool from him? What am I thinking about again?_)

She refused to open her eyes. Should she do so, the feeling of being (ravished) claimed might leave her (or so she thought), and as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to like the process of him being on top of her, her hands being pinned firmly beneath his—overpowering her in every way as he mercilessly peppered her face with nips and kisses.  
><em><br>__I'm becoming masochistic._

The need to breathe in precious air was becoming great as seconds (or was it minutes?) ticked by, and she struggled from within his grasp.

He let her go for a couple of seconds, letting her breathe for a moment before claiming her lips once again. Only one thought ran in their minds at the moment.  
><em><br>__I could get used to this._

He never once opened his eyes. He once read from a book—from an anatomy book that he found in his personal library not too long ago—that when a person loses one of his senses, the remaining senses will heighten to its full potential to compensate for the sense that was lost.

It seemed to be true for their case. He had been doing nothing but to feel her with his skin and lips and tongue and—_oh_—he didn't know tongues could do _that_.

He had her arms pinned down to the ground, and his lips continued to explore her mouth. It was becoming quite moist—and warm—and Neuro always liked his belongings warm.

The feeling of the cool wind coupled with the warmth of his mouth made her body shiver and her back arch—a reaction that didn't go unnoticed by Neuro, who was stealthily feeling every bit of her visible skin with his eyes closed.

He smirked by her cherry-hued ear, and it was then that he opened his eyes, wide and gleaming beneath the eye of the sun, "Do you like it?"

A soft whimper and a furrow of her eyebrows were the only answers he recieved. _You're coming undone, Yako._

"I'll take that as a yes."

And he assaulted her ear, nipping and licking on it until it turned to a nice shade of red that resembled Yako's hair clips.

He could see her lips trembling.

His thumb grazed on those quivering and swollen lips, and her eyes weakly opened to see those smiling emerald orbs glinting at her hazy gaze.

She let that thumb swirl circles inside her mouth, her mind too clouded to process anything else other than that sinful touch and those haunting forest green eyes.

"What an obedient slave I have," she heard him whisper close to her ear. Her mind's eye could only process the green of his irises, the dabs of blue and white of the sky, and nothing else. Her brown eyes fluttered closed, and she shivered upon hearing that voice—it vaguely reminded her of the chocolate she ate last night. Dark. Velvety. Deep. Rich. Intoxicating.

All things sinful.

Like sweets and fruits and cakes.  
><em><br>__(On her body.)_

Like melted icing and butter and cream.  
><em><br>__(On his chest.)_  
><em><br>__Oh my—_

Yako could feel the familiar trickle of that warm liquid down her—

His mouth was on hers again.

She squirmed.

That—_sweet, warm, oh!_—liquid trickled down further as she moved.  
><em><br>__Since when did I become this lewd?_

Opening her mouth wide, she let Neuro have his way with her tongue and lips—_sucking on it like there's no tomorrow_—and she was fairly sure that somewhere beneath her clothes, a certain part of her anatomy was becoming as soaked as her ear that was now being mercilessly lapped up by that skillful tongue.

In her dazed state, Yako wondered when Neuro had picked up these skills.

He was nibbling on her neck now—_he's losing control_—and those fanged teeth were on her clavicles, licking on the skin exposed there.

Her fingers inched around his black and blond locks—tugging on the tiny hairs a bit—her clouded brown eyes closed shut and her back arched as she felt his teeth biting into her flesh.

She was sure a bruise will form later on.

She also idly wondered when he had let go of her arms.

He moaned as he felt those tiny fingers pulling on his hair. Yako smiled.  
><em><br>__You closet masochist._

Her legs had been quivering for some time now—the intensity of her shaking legs were as much as her whole body quivering beneath his touch.

In the fit of her quaking frame, she hadn't realized that her uniform had become wrinkled and its hems had hiked up to the middle of her ribcage. She could feel the wind touching her partly exposed stomach, though she made no move to fix her rumpled uniform—her hands remained clutching onto his now messed up hair. The state of her unkempt clothes were forgotten as she felt his searing breath fanning over her lips.

An amused voice reached her sensitive hearing, and her lips tingled at the feeling of warm air near her face, "Since my little slave had been nice and obedient today despite her ruining her master's slumber, her master had decided to give her a little reward."

At this, she cracked one eye open and mumbled a hoarse whisper, her lips trembling as she tried to form words through her voice box, "What's with the third person form of speech...?"

He smirked at her and her disheveled form. His eyes greedily took in what he had made of her. Clear honey brown eyes turning dark and unfocused. Dewy and parted lips swollen and dyed in cherry red. Rounded cheeks moist and flushed into a shade of pink. Hair tousled and sticking out in wild angles. A slim neck riddled with bites ranging from violet to carnation. Wrinkled clothes. Body seemingly exhausted and heaving for oxygen. A pale and flat tummy rising and falling from the recent lack of air. Trembling and stretched out legs.

His eyes traveled downward, his grin widening even more as he gazed upon what was hidden beneath her slightly crumpled skirt.

Soaking underwear.

He was looking at her for far too long, and Yako took notice of those gleaming eyes staring at her whatever-it-was-beneath-her-skirt.

"...Wha-at...?"

He looked at her face once again, and crawled onto her on all fours.  
><em><br>__Like a lion about to feast on its prey._

He licked on her ear once again, and took delight at the moan she tried to muffle.

"You want me to stay over for the night?"

* * *

><p>Things have never been as awkward as it was now.<p>

He had been humming the whole day—_Heck, he had even hummed the whole time we were taking a test in History! And it took an hour, too!_—with that wide and sadistic smile on his face as he walked with her down the halls. He had been grinning widely for too long that Yako was beginning to get worried that he might develop a case of a locked jaw or something.  
><em><br>__Nah, I don't think that will happen._

He had been walking with her to the school gates, still with that smile stuck on his face, and some of the students were avoiding him like a plague.

Not that he had any problem with that. He could deal with it just fine.

Rumor had it that there was a certain smile that the highly-esteemed Nougami Neuro donned, and that certain smile—should people see (or even glance at) it—would certainly meet their doom.

The rumor wasn't far-off from the truth, it seemed.

Holding Yako's hand in public served as a deterrent for anyone who would dare to try and come near her. It served as his territorial mark. His warning. His indication that she belonged to him and him alone.

His warning seemed to be working well around them, as the "blotches and scum of the earth" (otherwise known as men)—as Neuro once dubbed them—were either bowing low before their presence or would either spare Yako a quick glance before shying away and huddling behind a nearby tree.

Gutless humans.

He had been eyeing her—well, he never stopped looking at her even once—since their little encounter on the school's rooftop. Her eyes had looked downcast and unfocused after they had made out on the roof, as he expected, and she had never once met his gaze after he kissed her. But once, in Physical Education this afternoon, she had looked at him with a smile when they got paired up for the relays.

That was enough for him to conclude that she wasn't mad at him. And besides, she had continuously tugged on the edges of her rather thin P.E. shirt while they were doing warm-ups—and she seemed to be only (unconsciously) doing it when he was looking at her. Not that the shirt itself was too tiny for her, but still—Neuro deemed it as a strange behavior from her.  
><em><br>__Becoming a bit self-conscious of the marks I gave you, eh?_

Yako chewed on her (tenth) melon bread with one hand, the other holding onto Neuro's.

She had to keep eating to distract herself of the events that happened earlier today—plus, her neck was feeling a bit itchy. She blamed Neuro for that.

Yako blankly looked at the streets ahead of them, her mind too focused on other things that she had to deal with later on.  
><em><br>__He'll be staying over for the night again. Why does this sound so wrong right now? Nothing bad will happen to me, right? I mean, Neuro won't harm me in a way that will break me completely! Why am I feeling nervous again? And I'm running out of bread!_

They crossed the streets with no problems—though Neuro had to quickly drag Yako away from the takoyaki stand near the other side of the street, he wouldn't let her eat everything on the poor stand _again_—and later made it to her house safely.

It was 3:45 in the afternoon when Neuro dropped Yako off her house, and Haruka, along with Miwako, were quick to cook dinner for the two of them. Neuro and Yako ate Miwako's cooking, leaving Haruka's beef stew—_made with tar and beef and melted tires and used chewing gum to make it more chewy!_—to waste on the table. Seiichi had work to do, and won't be home until seven in the evening, hence, why Haruka made even _more _"beef stew". Yako suddenly pitied her father's stomach.

Yako glanced at Neuro, and was glad to see him eating portions of the Katsuragi caretaker's food instead of her mother's, as much as she was saddened by it.  
><em><br>__Not that I would blame him for it._

She glanced at the clock. It was already half past four.  
><em><br>__Just a few more minutes and he'll be finished eating and—_

She stopped chewing on her food, and looked at her now empty plate. It took her at least ten seconds before she realized that she had stopped eating altogether. That had been a slip of mistake on her part.

The sudden change of mood had Haruka stopping in her mid-talk, "Dear, what's wrong? You suddenly stopped eating!" Yako merely smiled at her mother's words. No, she couldn't get her to worry over such a trivial thing. _And Neuro's looking at me!_

"I'm fine, mother. I just feel full."

Haruka gasped and looked at the small stack of plates beside Yako's glass of water, "But you only had six plates! You usually have 25! That's rare! Yako, do you have a fever? No, your temperature seems fine. Do you have any problems in school lately?"

Yako internally winced. _What's with the questions all of a sudden?_

"No, mother. I'm feeling fine. Nothing to worry abou—"

"Neuro, dear. Has my daugther been doing fine at school lately?" she suddenly asked as she patted Yako's head. And Yako groaned at how she was being treated.  
><em><br>__I'm already 16, mother! Why do you insist on treating me like a child?_

"Hm? Oh, why, yes, of course Yako's doing fine! I'm looking out for her, after all! In fact, she had been getting better with our P.E. lessons since _this morning_! I can see that she will excel in later weeks!"

Yako's eyes widened at Neuro's cheerful façade, and she tried not to yell at him in front of her own mother. _You sly fox! You're not even talking about P.E.!_

Upon hearing Neuro's words, Haruka heaved a sigh—so did Yako, albeit for a different reason—and patted her daugther's cheek with a smile.

"Oh, why, that's good! I don't think I'll be at ease if you aren't with her all the time. You always take good care of her, after all! Yako, it's a good thing Neuro's always there for you, right?"

Yako mustered a crooked smile and a choked laugh as a reply.

Those malachite-onyx eyes were staring at her again.

* * *

><p>"That was—a rather interesting conversation."<p>

"Shut up. You were laughing at me in your head."

"Hah! How did you know?"

"It's written all over your face, idiot. You and that smarmy smile could never deceive me."

"Heh. Then I guess I have to conceal the emotions showing on my face?"

She gasped as she turned around to face him, a tiny hand hovered on her mouth as she tried to hide a smile of her own, "Oh! I didn't know that you have hidden trifle things such as emotions! It must have been hard trying to find them! Where did you get them?"

A little smile was what Yako saw on Neuro's face as soon as she finished mocking him. A smile that resembled his countenance of calm and contentment—something that she only gazed upon during nightfall.

"I got them from the greasy and clumsy little piglet that carelessly bumped into me nine years ago."

The room went silent.

And Yako looked away from those warm green eyes.

_Well, that was awkward._

"Oh. Um. I didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't. You were too busy trying to feast your eyes on everything that looked like food to you—for the past nine years that I've known you, dishrag."

She was silent as moments passed. And Neuro's little smile grew wide.

"Oh? Not even a dull-witted retort? Have you gone mute?"

A large hand cupped her face, and he was not surprised upon seeing those watery brown eyes greeting his unwavering stare.

He laughed, "Don't tell me you're going to cry?"

"I'm not crying."

"Oh? Then what's this on your cheek? An odd bead of sweat that came out of your eye, perhaps?"

"When did you―"

"Come now, louse. Who do you think I am? You're looking at the man who has been with you for almost a decade, and you expect me not to know anything about you and your needless mood swings?"

A relieved smile bloomed on her pinkish face, despite the lone tear that kissed her cheek. That was his most ambiguous way of saying that he acknowledged her presence, at least—and that was enough to make her feel giddy. "You have been with me for too long," Yako murmured, and the familiar feeling of that smooth thumb gliding over her lips had her quivering into a jumbled mess.

Despite her smile, she shook her head with a firm glare, "Neuro, not now―"

"What makes now so different?"

"You're in my house―"

"And?"

"S-someone might come in my room and―"

"And?"

"And―darn it, Neuro! Don't make this hard for me!"

He smirked, and the feel of hot breath and the scent of peppermint (that she was becoming _too_ accustomed to) fanned over her blushing cheeks.  
><em><br>__Curse that stupid smile!_

"Do you want me to do it when everyone in this house is asleep, then?"

The blood drained from Yako's face.

* * *

><p>Over the course of the first day of the weekend, Yako had been restless, often shifting on her seat continuously or standing up to fervently pace the room she was in.<p>

Today was no different.

Neuro had stayed over since Friday night (and it was already Sunday)―not that that was anything new―but the strange thing was―

―he kept her up all night. During the two nights that he stayed in, to be precise.

She groaned, and thought about the crisis she was currently in. Everything started last Friday (_Why is it that all of my bad days seem to start on Friday? I wasn't even born on the fourth day of the fourth month of the year!_).

It was funny, she thought, and not to mention strange, how a little game—a _child's _game—of "I Spy" had escalated to something risqué—a game that somehow involved the words, "I Lick".

She sighed.

Yako had initially suggested the child's game on that night just for kicks, for Neuro not to be bored―as he had already finished toying with the 50 white puzzles she recently bought for him in eleven minutes flat, and Yako had nothing to entertain him with―and him, having the warped mind of a fiend, had twisted the rules of the game. To bend it for his convenience. The rules had changed and it somehow managed to involve her and her exposed skin (no thanks to the sleepwear she chose to don), and also of Neuro's teeth and tongue.

_("I lick with my little tongue, something that starts with a _C_.") __  
><em>  
>Nevertheless, he seemed to have had enjoyed their little game on those two nights, judging from the amount of bites he had given her neck and shoulders. Said bites ranged from barely noticeable to ridiculously huge—like the one he did on her right shoulder (<em>Thank goodness it's hidden by my shirt!<em>).

_Well, he should enjoy it. My neck feels likes it's about to be burned! And my cheeks still hurt! __  
><em>  
>She anxiously paced the living room, twice, and getting tired from repeatedly walking to and fro, she slumped on the couch, reached for the T.V. remote, and watched the cooking channels.<p>

It was not until five minutes later that Yako heard her stomach growling.

"...I need to eat."

Getting up from the couch, she made a beeline to the fridge; upon opening it and seeing nothing but last night's beef stew and some skimmed milk, she slammed the fridge shut and opened the pantry instead.

"Ah! Pocky! ...But it's not enough."

Sighing in defeat and grabbing the ten boxes of chocolate pocky, she returned to her seat―

―only to find Neuro lounging lazily on the couch, with his ridiculously gangly legs hanging over one side of the armchair, munching on some fries while watching the daily morning news.

"...You're still here."

"Of course. You don't expect me to go out and march in the rain, do you?"

"That's why umbrellas exist."

"And that is why I refuse to go out in the rain with that nuisance you call an umbrella. Why should I go and return to my house when I could stay here where it's warm?"

Yako sighed and resigned herself to his occassional bouts of childishness. She could never understand what Neuro hated so much about the rain. She had asked him once, and his reply had been nothing but a scary blank smile and a fistful of fingers being shoved down her throat.

She sat on the carpeted floor―as she would never be able to squeeze herself in on the couch now that those too-long legs were on her way―and ate her pocky while she watched the news. She could hear the soft sounds of chewing from behind her, and she wondered where could he have gotten those fries. He never left the house.

"Neuro?"

"Hm?"

"Where did you get those fries?"

There was no hesitation as he answered her, lips curling just the slightest as he spoke, "From your schoolbag."

"You went through my things?"

"Of course."

"...You answered it as if you owned my things."

He huffed, that wide smile placated on his face as he eyed her with glee, "You're my property."

In response, Yako sighed as she turned her back to him and watched the television with a sense of gloom. _You and your possessiveness._

Watching the morning news had always bored her to no end. No news about colorful and promising food. No news about newly-discovered things that would be useful for cooking. No newly-discovered animals that would taste great on the palate. Nothing at all.

_And Mother and Sonobe-san won't be back until noon for this month's supply of food. Plus, Father won't be back until Tuesday. I hope he'll bring those tasty sweets from work again. __  
><em>  
>A small pout formed on her―<em>still<em>―swollen lips, and she idly wondered when the sting on her inner lip would heal. Her teeth hitting that part of her mouth made it hard for her to chew her food.  
><em><br>__I blame this man lying on my couch._

She idly watched as the female newscaster blandly talked about the recent events that involved nothing but death and pain and injustice and all things cruel. Yako yawned.

No matter how many things she tried to do to distract herself, her thoughts would always return to that abusive man and his too-heated kisses―_that I can still feel on my skin even now._

Not that she was thinking too much about it. Should she do so, she might lose her appetite! Yako wouldn't want that.

So she nibbled on her last stick of pocky and blankly listened to the words being uttered by the stiff newscaster.

After watching for five minutes, she idly found herself tapping her finger on her knee, a sign that she was becoming a tad irritated.

Puffing her cheeks, she faced the serene-looking male lying on the couch and noted that he was smiling as the news droned on.

"Neuro, can't we watch anything else? The news bores me to death!"

Unfazed green eyes looked at her, and in response, he shoved his last French fry in her mouth with his long fingers, taking pleasure at the choked sound she made when his middle finger had hit the back of her throat, "Your shitty dramas won't be on until seven at night. What are you stupidly whining about?"

"Bu' thewe's no newsh abou' food!"

He heaved a sigh and removed his fingers from the insides of her mouth (inadvertently hitting her little canker sore in the process, and it made Yako wince), dark green eyes returned to the screen as he pinched one of Yako's cheeks instead, ignoring the feeling of saliva that coated his fingers as he did so, "You imbecilic little maggot. Since when did restaurants become a featured headline in the news?"

"Bu' I'm shtill hungry!"

Releasing another sigh, he let go of her reddened cheek and wiped his hand on her clothes―she groaned at her now damp shirt.

"You and your insatiable appetite."

"This coming from the man who can keep up with my eating―gyah!"

"Oh? You dare try to talk back, little slave?"

By now, Neuro had lifted Yako off the floor and practically threw her onto his chest, all done with ease as he laughed at her madly blushing face.

"Something the matter, piglet?" he asked as he tugged on her hair―painfully. He waited for a couple of seconds for her to answer.

"Us acting like this," she hesitantly began with her eyes closed as she spoke through the pain piercing her scalp, and Neuro's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected change of topic.

Opening her honey brown eyes, she looked at Neuro's puzzled face, "Us acting like this―what does this make us now?"

He frowned, not liking her serious tone of voice, "You're not making any sense, termite."

Yako mustered a sigh and pried away the fingers digging mercilessly onto her battered scalp. Surprisingly, Neuro complied and he released his hold on her locks.

Lying completely flat on Neuro's torso felt a little strange to the baffled girl. It felt too intimate, too personal―  
><em><br>__―a little world of our own._

She shook her head, and Neuro's face twisted in confusion at her sudden bouts of random acts. His middle finger poked her chin. She looked at him.

"Elaborate."

Tiny―_and so breakable, too weak_―arms wrapped around his neck, and he could distinctly smell and feel her chocolate-scented breath fanning over his face as she leaned closer to him.

"What does this make of us? Friends? Lovers? Friends with benefits?"

He always considered looking at those large eyes as a bite of the forbidden fruit. That glazed, brown-eyed stare had always been haunting his mind, often leaving him with thoughts of melted honey and the sweet caramel she loves so much.

The nights have always treated him like that for nine years―always leaving him with ambiguous thoughts of a certain brown-eyed girl whenever he would go to sleep.  
><em><br>__Stupid human hormones._

"You have always been my slave. I treated you like that ever since I met you."

"So does this make us as having a master and slave relationship, then?"

"You only realize this now, you numbskull?" he asked, his tone playful, green eyes warm and deep and lips quirked in a little grin as he looked at Yako's wide caramel eyes.

She pouted―as he expected―and laid her chin on his chest lazily, smiling all the while, "I have realized it for a long time, dummy. But I never expected that you would stoop so low just to seduce a slave."

"Hah. Don't confuse me for someone who uses their wiles for seduction. I'm not like that."

She snorted as she briefly glanced at the forgotten news on the television, "Yeah. I forgot. You don't use wiles. You use force."

He grinned at her words, and a rumble of a chuckle reverberated in Yako's ears, "You wound me. You said it as if I'm a criminal."

She only laughed.

Minutes passed as they laid on the couch, her on top of him, him beneath her (and still fully clothed, thank you very much). Two pairs of eyes looked disinterested at the recently finished news broadcast, and the scene had changed to a commercial about another new flavor of one of the known chocolate brands.

She shifted her neck, growing tired of being in the same position for so long, and opted to look at the leather couch for a change of view. She could feel a spindly hand winding its way on her scalp, and her breath hitched as that hand slowly smoothed her ruffled locks, long fingers gently patting her pained scalp.

Yako blinked as she stared at her left hand that was clasping onto his shirt.  
><em><br>__This is new._

The sound of his heartbeat and the soft background noise of the television echoed in her ears, its melody lulling her to sleep, to catch up on the forty winks that she had missed for the past two nights. Those fingers on her hair were not helping her to keep awake for long.

Neuro hummed, his voice's deep vibrations sending a soft tickle to Yako's ear, and she blinked up at him.

"Neuro? What's wrong?"

Green eyes looked at her, and with a quick swoop of his lips to her forehead, he breathed, _"You don't know how much I'm controlling myself right now."_

Yako didn't know whether she should be petrified or comforted by his words.

She decided to feel comforted.  
><em><br>__At least I wouldn't have to worry about getting―_

She was swept from her thoughts by a slick tongue invading her mouth.  
><em><br>__I decided too soon._

* * *

><p>School festivals had always been a busy event for the students. Decorating their homerooms to make it look attractive to the eyes, putting up various booths in both the school grounds and the classrooms, promoting their representatives and creating new ideas for the guests on the day of the festival itself had always proved to be an exhausting task. Everything would have been fine if a certain individual had been helping a certain homeroom in the beginning.<p>

Too bad that certain individual had been too busy reading every book in the school library.

"Neuro! It would do the class some good if you would at least try to _help _us!"

He yawned, "Not happening."

Yako fumed as she slammed her bag―which was filled with today's lunch, by the way―on the book-filled table. She earned a glare from the librarian sitting nearby. Yako glared back.

Fear the wrath of the hungry Yako.

She groaned as she noisily sat on the chair in front of him, throwing a fit like a petulant child. She earned another look from the librarian. Yako looked back at her. The librarian broke eye contact.

_Good._

"I haven't had my lunch yet and Kanae won't let me eat until I'm finished with these posters! Neuro, help me!"

He only spared her a glance from the book he was reading and snorted at her antics, "Feh, I told you to just ditch that friend of yours. But _no_, you had to butt in and swoop the materials from her hand like the goody two shoes that you are and—"

"But we're _in a group_. It would be unfair not to help them."

"Bah! Let them grovel at whatever things they blindly want to do. It's none of our business."

"But Neuro—"

He looked at her. It was that look that clearly said, 'Shut up or I'll throw you to the wall.' She whined as she backed out from the argument. No use in trying to argue with him, anywa—

—she looked at the posters on the table. Then at the large bookshelf at the end of the hall. Brown eyes tried to peek at what lies behind the shelf, and, just as she expected, a familiar figure was hiding behind it, all hunched up and face hidden from view.

A wild idea popped in her mind.

Caramel eyes slowly looked at the man still reading in front of her, a little leer beamed from her glossed lips, "Hey, Neuro—"

Without looking at her as he turned a page, he grunted, "Do it yourself." Puffing her cheeks at the observant man smiling slyly behind a hardbound book, she scoffed, mouth agape as she kicked his foot, "Neuro—!" _How did you know what I was thinking!_

"No."

Crossing her arms indignantly, she sighed, "Fine. If you won't help me, then I'll march in there."

He only turned another page of his book. _Suit yourself._

With a small groan, she stood up—noisily—and, ignoring the disappointed look from the librarian, she stomped towards the back of the largest shelf, near the fire exit.

"Um, Godai Shinobu-_san_, was it?"

The piercing and hoarse yell he choked out made Yako twitch. She could feel someone watching her from behind.

Black eyes looked at the nosy person who intruded on his alone time with his beer. He had always made sure all of his drinks were never discovered by any of the school authorities.

"Whaddya want—oh. Hey, aren't ya the puny kid who was with that giant freak the last time?"

Yako laughed—an awkward one—and scratched her head, "Um, yes, yes I am! But he's not really a, uh, 'freak', as what you call him. He can be nice! ...in his own way." Her eye twitched as she spoke. How did trying to (re)introduce herself ended up in trying to clear up Neuro's name?

Her lips thinned in a line. She would never know how her conversations always ended up with him. At the back of her mind, she could distinctly hear an obnoxious laugh echoing in her ears.

She sighed.

The male with the bleached hair stood up and wiped his damp hands on his dirtied uniform. He eyed her with a feral growl. "So? Whaddya want, kid? If ya want to talk to the boss—"

"—I'm not here to talk with Hayasaka-_san_, actually," it was hard trying to look at those eyes that look like they were about to kill you in a split second. _Neuro's eyes give off a different vibe, though. Dripping with an evil intent all the time. At least Neuro doesn't smell like cigarettes._

"Geh? Well, if ya don't want to talk with the boss, then what are ya here for?"

She scratched her head again and looked behind her—she was sure someone was watching her.

"Um, Godai-_san_, you belong with Class 1-A, right?"

"Tch. Yeah? So what?"

She smile and clapped and bowed, eyes shut closed as her voice escalated a few notes higher than her usual tone, "So! I beg you, Godai-_san_! Please help me with the posters!"

"What the hell are ya talking about! I ain't gonna do those things! I don't even go to class!"

"But I saw you trying to sneak out of the classroom once! Unnoticed by all! While Honjou-_sensei _was teaching us!"

He stomped his foot on the ground and inched closer to her face. He glowered at her.

In a split second, a butt of a lit cigarette hovered dangerously near to Yako's mouth.

"Why'ddya want to make me do it so badly, huh, missy?"

Yako closed her eyes as she mustered a retort, and blindingly hoping that that cigarette won't burn her mouth.  
><em><br>__"I wouldn't do that to her, if I were you."_

She opened her eyes, and heaved a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar outline of Neuro's back.

Neuro had decided to pop in—_I bet it was him looking at me the whole time I was talking to him!_—and had taken away the lit stick from Shinobu's hand and hovered the said stick dangerously close at Shinobu's eye.

His face had instantly gone a deathly white.

"Neuro, you're scaring him—!"

"Shut up, snail. If he had poked this cancer stick on your face, you would get ugly sores. If that happened, I wouldn't have any cheek to poke with for a long period of time because you would endlessly whine on how painful your face is."

Yako's eye twitched as she tried to control her rage, "So it all ends with you concerning over your pleasures on pinching my face?"

He widely grinned at those fearful black eyes, and without batting an eyelash, Neuro grabbed his head and gleefully grinded the lit end of the cigarette on Shinobu's scalp, "Of course."

The ear-splitting scream that resounded in the library was music to Neuro's ears.

* * *

><p>"Kanae-<em>chan<em>! I'm done!" Yako cheered as she handed her the finely drawn and colored posters. Shinobu had made a perfect job on doing everything right down to the dot. In the end, the poor guy was forced by a widely grinning Neuro grinding his shoe at the back of his head. 'For trying to damage my property!' he had said with a maniacal laugh. In exchange for all his efforts, Yako had—begrudgingly—traded all of her food. Neuro had been quick to pour in a small bottle of liquid paraffin on each of the eleven lunch boxes that Yako had, though—just as the blond decided to eat. Neuro had done it all within seconds while Shinobu wasn't looking. Yako had only slapped her forehead for his devilish ways of payback.

"Ah! Good! Now you can eat your lunch! The whole class donated food for you, by the way—in case the food you brought won't fill you up."

Yako didn't listen manage to finish listening at Kanae's words as she hurriedly entered the classroom and sat on her chair and practically drooled at the sight of the food overflowing at her little desk.

"Time to eat—!"

Kanae looked at the all-too-happy girl munching the food away on her table. Crossing her arms with a small smile, she sighed and mumbled a soft, "She will never change, huh."

"Of course she won't change! That's her trademark! Being the plump little piggy that she is!"

The sudden sound of that familiar cheerful voice made her yelp from the doorway as she turned around in surprise, and seeing Neuro standing behind her—_Had he been there all this time?_—made a shiver run down her spine. She faked a smile as she slowly backed away from the broadly smiling man, "Oh, hello, Nougami-_san_! I... didn't see you there."

"Eh heh! Of course you didn't! Your back was facing me."

Whenever his lilting and joyful tone would drop just an octave, Kanae would somehow feel a dying urge to scratch her skin. She didn't know why. She assumed it was because she was never used on hearing a voice that deep from the smiling man.

Yako, on the other hand—

"Neuro! We can eat now!"

"Oh! You're going to share me your food? Why, that's a miracle!" he paused as he took a step near the doorway. With his bright green eyes still trained on Yako's eating form, he spoke to Kanae. "Aren't you going to let me in?" he asked with an innocent smile. That baritone had never matched with that naïve little grin, Kanae mused.

She smiled and nodded, and wordlessly stepped aside to let him enter.

He had never once mentioned her name ever since she had met him. She often wondered why.

"Ah! Neuro, that's my onigiri!"

"B-but I thought you'd finally share me your food!"

"I never said that! And don't pull those puppy eyes on me!"  
><em><br>__—Yako, on the other hand, seems to be quite used to Nougami-san's quasi-bipolar episodes._

She sighed as she sat on her chair, looking at the posters her best friend had "made". She instantly smiled upon looking at them. _Hey, these are really good!_

Just as she was happily inspecting the expertly-made drawings on her desk, she saw a familiar silhouette passing by the corridor. Kanae's eyes widened.

_Platinum blond._

* * *

><p>Walking down the student-filled corridors have never felt so strange. People were staring at them as they passed by. Neuro ignored them all and looked on the path he was walking. Yako calmly held his hand as they walked, imitating him so as to not meet any pair of ogling eyes. She looked at him. He was smiling as they walked.<p>

"Hey, Neuro. Have you seen Kanae-_chan_? She disappeared when we were eating in homeroom."

"Why should I care where her whereabouts are? She's probably on the prowl hunting for more slug toys to put in her collection."

Yako wanted to argue that her friend wasn't a 'prowling she-wolf' as Neuro once proclaimed, but she found no reason to counter his argument. He had been right―_countless of times, actually_―Kanae had been doing nothing but to search for more men since they started their senior year in junior high. And it was one of the reasons why Yako never bothered to be with Kanae at certain times. That female specimen could be as wild as a lion when she searches for her next prey, Neuro once told her. Yako wondered if Kanae could ever find someone who would meet her sky high standards.

She pouted as she looked at the glass windows they passed by, hoping to see a certain mop of long brown hair in the school grounds. She found none.

Opting to ignore the stares sent their way, Yako talked to Neuro to distract herself.

"But it was a good thing that Godai-_san _helped out, huh? I mean, if it weren't for him, I couldn't have eaten lunch! ...though he ate my lunch, and you put a lot of laxatives in the lunch boxes―but that's beside the point! I managed to eat in the end! Right?"

"Heh. You and your endless drivel for food."

They walked towards the rooftop, where they could take a break from all the fuss in the classroom. Their classmates had been doing nothing but to endlessly fawn at them the moment they had taken their seats. Males and females alike had been hovering on their desks with wide smiles plastered on their faceless faces―_Oh, Yako-sama! I really like your accessories! Where did you get them? Neuro-sama is really tall! I bet I can loop my arms around you while you are standing and you would spin me around!_―the last comment had been the last straw. With one of the desks being mercilessly thrown on the blackboard―Yako prayed that they wouldn't have to pay for the damaged school property―he had stormed out of the room, dragging a complaining Yako with him.

She didn't fight him back, at least.

Yako thought of how long this treatment towards them would last. Practically treating them as deities initially sounded like something that Neuro would want, but judging from his recent fit of irritation, it didn't seem to be the case. _He hates random physical contact, anyway_.

She wondered why the principal had kept on insisting this way of treatment towards them. It wasn't like she had done anything to freshen up the school's name. That was Neuro's doing. And it wasn't like Neuro himself was planning on transferring to another school.

Trudging up the stairs leading to the rooftop, Neuro, who was behind Yako, tripped the girl twice. He smiled all the while as he watched his little snail almost falling on one of the steps―twice―her skirt swinging just the slightest as she tried to regain her balance with a random shout of obsceneties being thrown at him. Yako knew he ignored them all, though.

Neuro's quick eyes, however, didn't miss the little show he saw beneath her skirt while she was trying to catch her almost-fall.  
><em><br>__So it's yellow with white frills today, huh._

He smirked.

Reaching the door to the rooftop, Yako grabbed the handle and twisted it. The knob didn't budge.

"Eh? It's locked."

She tried fumbling with the knob again, but to no avail. Neuro hummed.

"Ya can't go in there right now, missy."

Two pairs of eyes turned towards the sound of the slurred voice that came from the shadows lurking behind some stacks of boxes near the doorway.

Godai Shinobu.

Narrow black eyes looked at the tall blond who was standing behind the small girl. Looking at the little lady, she looked like she was a good one foot smaller than the freakishly huge green-eyed man smiling behind her. It didn't help matters to make them look nice in his eyes, though—he blamed both of them for making his stomach upset earlier (_And it lasted a whole damn hour, too!_). He eyed them both warily.

_A big difference in height._

"Why not?" he heard the girl ask. He shifted his attention back to her, and mentally noted that a pair of arms were now circling her shoulders.

He looked at the widely grinning blond, then back to the blinking girl.

_This kid has iron courage to let that freak touch her like that. __  
><em>  
>"The boss is in there talking to his girlfriend," he began, and he made his self known as he got out from where he was hiding and sat on one of the neatly stacked cardboard boxes—comically labeled, 'For Honjou'—smoking a cigarette throughout. The (painful) little wound that Neuro (happily) inflicted on his scalp earlier was glaring at them with an angry red and black. He winced as he looked at those smiling green eyes. "'Ell, I think she's his girlfriend, anyway. A bit of a strange one, if ya ask me. She kept on lookin' at boys on the grounds while she was talking to him. A sign of disrespect, the boss says. So he led her here. I'm keeping watch in case anyone would wantta barge in."<p>

Yako hummed and let go of the knob and considered his words. Hearing them reminded her of a certain someone. She cocked her head.

"Does this girl have long, brown hair that reaches past the shoulders, with dark brown eyes and trimmed eyebrows and have the tiniest bit of a holier-than-thou attitude?" she hastily asked. She really didn't mean to ask the last part, but it just blurted right out of her mouth.

"Shyeah, I think. Why? Ya know her?"

At this, Yako smiled and sighed as she let her hands rest on Neuro's arms that were still hanging loosely from her shoulders. Thank goodness he wasn't trying to choke her this time. _But his chin grinding on my head is making me feel uncomfortable._

"Um. Yeah. I looked for her in class a few minutes ago. I thought maybe she had gone out for a bit―wait. Did you just say... his girlfriend? Yukinori-_san_'s?"

Shinobu blinked and scratched his chin, "Yeah, I said that. Why?"

Yako only shook her head forlornly as she loosely held onto Neuro's arms—the latter didn't seem to mind the gesture—eyes suddenly downcast as she looked at her shoes, then at the locked door leading to the open air on the roof.

She thought of how Yuuya will take all of this. _Is she cheating on him? Heck, are they already through?_

* * *

><p>"I thought I told you not to show your face near my classroom."<p>

"I thought I had to take a piss. I never knew that you were there inside and saw me. I mean, the school doesn't belong to you, right?"

Kanae fumed, not liking his mocking tone. Sure, she had followed him when she saw that familiar hue of silvery hair on the corridors. She never quite expected that he would drag her from the grounds to the rooftop. _Thank goodness Yako and Nougami-san aren't here!_

Chocolate brown eyes looked away from that sneering face.

She had been lying to Yuuya for two weeks. She missed having contact with the bespectacled boy, yes, but she blamed him when he didn't even visit her when his summer job had ended for almost _a month_. Ten-minute calls weren't enough for her, as she couldn't even see him on the other side of the conversation. Plus, there was also the suspicion that he might not really want to see her anymore. She didn't know what had drawn her to such a conclusion, but she had a hunch. He wasn't telling her something.

And that disturbed her.

_He won't even e-mail me even though he has that laptop every for every single moment of his life!_

Hence, why she sought the company of other boys, to search for someone who could replace Yuuya. No, she hadn't told him that she was seeing someone else. It would break into an ugly fight. And Kanae always hated ugly break-ups.

Just as she was about to retort to this leering man, she heard a loud shriek from the other side of the door. Her head whipped around and her hand automatically reached for the knob; she twisted it―

―and Yukinori blocked her way.

"Haya! Let me go already!"

"Oh? Have you forgotten that it was you who followed me?"

She looked away, not liking the turn of events. She always had her way with men. Always.

But now―

"Kanae―"

"Don't say my name―"

"I'll say it as many times as I want!"

Her breath stopped short.

* * *

><p>A loud cackle resounded in the noisy hallway, followed by the booming laugh, an equally loud shriek pierced through the school's walls. Several students looked at the source of the noise. Some gasped and gaped. Some whispered to one another. Some simply looked away, sporting a fierce blush on their faces, as the three people trudged down the halls.<p>

Well, two people trudging down the halls, to be precise―the other one was being carried over a broad shoulder, a large hand supporting a skirt-covered bottom as he laughed while walking.

The beatings that the laughing man was getting from the irate girl being heaved on his back did little to deter him from his current task of walking to the library.

"Neuro! Put me down, you demon!"

"Fuhaha! Like hell I would! My little maggot was trying to stupidly eavesdrop on her friend and her boyfriend number two's conversation! _Someone's _being a little naughty!"

And for added insult to her already embarrassing situation, he spanked her through her skirt. Hard.

Her head jerked as she yelped from the hit. A tomato would be jealous of Yako's face, should a tomato even have such a thing as feelings. Embarrassment and shame and fury were written on her nearly-crying and horribly scarlet face. Trying to pound her small fists on his back were doing nothing to her predicament, and in the end, she simply grabbed the ends of his uniform and buried her face in it, groaning weakly all the while about how unfair he is to her all the time.

Neuro ignored her weary whines and protests, though, and opted to smirk as he made his way to the library doors.

"Hey, aren't ya being a little too rough on her?" Shinobu asked from behind. He had begrudgingly followed them after Yako had shrieked on the roof―all because Neuro had suddenly dragged her away from the door and carried her like a sack of potatoes; and he was (definitely not) scared of how Yukinori would react to hearing a scream from the door when he had specifically instructed him that they were not to be interrupted at all costs. No, he was not running away from his 'boss'. Running away is for weaklings. He was just taking a walk, that's all.

And while Neuro was carrying her, Shinobu noticed that the 'freaky giant', as he had dubbed him mentally, had the strangest quirk of taking away the poor girl's attention from whatever it was she was thinking about.  
><em><br>__Damn bastard probably noticed the little pipsqueak looking down or somethin'. _

Nevertheless, he was surprised that the yelling girl hadn't even yelled (actual) hurtful profanities and death threats at him―_hell, she didn't even yell that she hated him! I thought girls woulda said that if they were treated that way!_

"I'm handling her like how I always handle her. Don't worry your ugly and burnt bleached head about a thing."

Shinobu paused in his steps and looked at the now silent girl that was hiding her face in Neuro's uniform. In the end, she had surrendered to his whims (yet again), her letting him carry her like she was some sack of flour.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully as Neuro (and involuntarily, Yako) entered the library with that wide smile that he was slowly becoming familiar with.

Then it dawned on him.

"Hey! You're the reason why my scalp got burned!"

* * *

><p>A young man carried a stack of boxes towards an office. His expression was that of sheer concentration as he put the boxes near a potted plant. He bent his back and stretched.<p>

"Hey, lad. Thank you for the hard work! It's hard getting these babies nowadays. People just throw them out like they're trash. They don't appreciate gold nowadays, eh?"

The question was meant to be rhetorical, and the young man forced a smile as he stood straight.

"Um, yeah. I think they don't. This office looks unique, by the way," he replied instead of retorting in a way that might―or would―definitely hurt this teacher.

The teacher―Fumio―barked a laugh as he playfully slapped the smaller male on the back, making the young man's round eyeglasses almost slip from the bridge of his nose.

"Hah! You have a good eye for treasures, kid! I like you. And yes, isn't this office of mine a beauty? I'd say this is the most environmental-friendly office there is! Nothing but the good old smell of cardboards, eh?" he laughed as he looked around his office with a proud and bright smile. All around the room, there was nothing but cardboards. Every single thing inside was made out of pure, a hundred percent, cardboard. From his name plaque on the desk, to the chairs, to the couch, to the water dispenser near the potted plant, to the picture frames on the walls, to the door and the floor mat and all things present in the room. Everything was made out of stiff, colorful pasteboards.

Needless to say, the young man was impressed at this teacher's creativity.

"Say, you're new here, aren't you?" Fumio asked as he rubbed his stubble. He knew all of the school's staff's names and faces by heart, and this boy that was standing beside him looked, well―

―new.

In response, the young man held out a hand and scratched his head with the other, laughing all the while.

"Please call me Yuu. I just got hired here three days ago."

The Math teacher's eyes lit up at the proffered hand and shook it firmly, "Oh. Yuu, eh? I'm guessing that's not your surname?"

Yuu's black eyes narrowed just a tad. A sharp-minded man was before him.

"...Well, kind of."

Fumio grinned as he slapped Yuu on the back once again, "Haha! Don't be so stiff, boy! You'll end up being as stiff as my office!"

The bespectacled man only smiled and winced. A stray thought came to mind as he chatted on with the mathematician. _Maybe he knows them._

"Say, do you happen to know a student who studies here? A girl with long, brown hair that's always with a short-haired girl?"

Fumio quirked an eyebrow as he scratched his chin—a habit of his, it seemed—he gazed at his ceiling (that was made out of white cardboard), "Well, there are lots of students who look like that. Could you be specific? Like, a mark on their face or stuff?"

Yuu tapped his forehead, thinking as his black eyes darted from left to right. _A mark, a mark—_

"Oh yeah! The one with the short hair always has this strange little hair clips! Like little teeth!"

"...Eh. I couldn't say that I know any students like that. Or maybe I've overlooked something," Fumio the huff that the younger male sported. "Tell you what, I'll see if I do know someone like that. I'm kind of forgetful about certain things. Haha!"

Yuu faked a smile at this man—a flaw in his quite observant eye—and he mustered a weak laugh, "Haha... It's just—I want to see them, you see. I've heard they were studying here."

"Hm? A family of yours?"

He quickly shook his head and waved his hands furiously, "No, no! Not family, just—acquaintances, I think." He paused, thinking about his next words. He had to be careful.

"Say, about that short-haired girl, she's always seen with a boy that's nearly six-feet high. Do you have any idea who he is?"

Rubbing his chin and scrunching his lips, the teacher juggled numerous faces in his mind to come up with an answer. Heaving a sigh, he tapped his foot once.

"There are several boys in this school who are ridiculously tall. Most of them are in the basketball team. How about you start looking there?"

Yuu weighed his options. He could go to the gym, he recently knew where it was from the quick tour he had three days ago, but—

"I honestly don't think he's the sporty type, though. One last question. Sorry if I'm being too meddlesome, but the boy I'm looking for has blond hair with black highlights. Do you know any student like that?"

He watched as sudden recognition sparked in Fumio's weary eyes. Snapping his thumb and forefinger, he grinned broadly.

"There could only be one that has that description! Yes, only one. A bit overall strange character, he is. But he's a quite determined boy—especially about that equally strange girl he's always with, never letting her lose his sight for a second. A very intelligent lad, too. Very advanced for his age. That Nougami boy."

Yuu smiled.

"...Yes. That's who I was looking for."

* * *

><p>*noms on pizza* Ideas are overflowing in my head and I can't stop them. Me gusta. 8D<p> 


	8. Furtum

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N:** Reuploaded because of a mistake last chapter. DX *facepalm* Also, did anyone notice what movie they watched in this chapter? :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: Furtum<strong>

* * *

><p>Looking at these strange kind of people had always made him irritated even at the tiniest and simplest of things.<p>

The previously cherry-faced and yelling and almost-crying little lady had now mellowed down to a happy little clam as she cheerfully ate a huge bag of marshmallows taken from the insides of her bag. It seemed that she never leaves homeroom without it.

_Scratch that. She doesn't seem to leave without any food on 'er at all. _

The even stranger of the two―this cunning, manipulative, always-smiling man―had been reading silently the whole time since they entered the library. Well, he knew that libraries were meant for people who were looking for books, but still―

―a long, whole rectangular table filled with hardbound, encyclopedia-thick books, being completely read within a record time of 20 minutes... it was something that the irate man could never fathom.

"Hey, aren't ya two supposed to be helping out with the festivities and stuff?" Shinobu asked as he leaned on his rickety wooden chair. Some of the library's furniture needs a little tweaking, he mused.

Yako swallowed a handful of marshmallows as she smiled at the scowling man, "Oh, we've already done our part for the day. We're taking a break, you see. Eh heh!"

That stuttering little laugh at the end of her explanation didn't convince Shinobu at the slightest. He looked at the man beside the smiling girl. Said man was still reading, humming all the while as he turned a page of his book.

Shinobu noisily nudged the table; Neuro merely raised an eyebrow at the action, dark green eyes still glued on the words of the book. "Hey. Ya sure ya read all of these? They're all shit-thick!" he yelled, extending his arms at the table for emphasis. Yako and Neuro merely hummed, each of them doing their own business, and ignoring the blinking student.

Shinobu only harrumphed as he angrily crossed his arms.

_Weird bunch_.

* * *

><p>Yukinori walked down the halls, his face contorted in barely hidden annoyance about anything of everything. He ignored the mumbled greetings from the silent students as he wordlessly walked by―<em>Good day, Yukinori-sama<em>―and kicked a notebook that fell from a student's hand. It was blocking his way.

He was annoyed. Humiliated. Angry.

At _her_.

Kanae had left a shattering and stinging reminder on his pale cheek, a glaring and angry red mark—_a slap!_—had been given to his face as soon as he tried to hold her arm. He was rejected.

And it was the first time, too.

He went inside his homeroom and kicked a chair as he sat on his seat. Several students looked at him and merely bowed as they went away from the rage of the younger Hayasaka. Everyone knew that he should never be crossed. Should someone do so, there would be hell to pay.

He wasn't known as the 'Blazing Inferno' for nothing.

* * *

><p>School had ended with nothing more than a breeze. The tasks for the upcoming festival were becoming more and more tedious as days passed by.<p>

It was a good thing that Neuro had the authority to reject any responsibilities.

...Or mainly it was because everyone in class was too afraid, too cautious and too weak to confront and argue with him.

Yako had been given the same privilege, too. Although it was because the others were too afraid to "cross with the Neuron's Piggish Little Kitten". Not that Yako had been mad of being given such a (weirdly named) title, but hearing the way her so-called 'title' was arranged made her feel like she was a demoness about to go on a rampage. And it irked her.

The 'Little Kitten' part sounded cute to her, though.

Yako yawned as she walked home with Neuro, her hand loosely clasped onto his, as per usual. Some students had previously asked them why they always went home together. Yako had only smiled and shrugged as she politely avoided the topic and would simply return the question with a quick snack from her bag. Neuro, on the other hand, had always mustered a smarmy grin at whoever may ask them that question, and he would simply worm his lanky arms around Yako's petite form and would utter vague responses—_"Yako and I are inseparable, you see; she's always with me, especially at night"_—that would often leave the persons they were talking to babbling and blushing madly at his uttered words.

It had only helped spread the wildfire of rumors about them. Ranging from them being a couple to them being actually married and were just hiding it from the public.

Yako sighed. It was a good thing that she was immune to such things as petty rumors. She had suffered much worse from Neuro's bouts of verbal abuse, anyway.

"Something wrong with your non-existent brain, louse?"

"Hm? No, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?"

"You just sighed."

She laughed, "I'm just feeling a bit tired, that's all."

Neuro hummed, his green eyes darting quickly from left to right as they neared an intersection. Ugly and filthy humans could be lurking from behind those concrete walls, and they might be waiting for their prey, he mused.

He was becoming a bit too paranoid about inspecting his surroundings. Ever since _that day _happened.

His hold on Yako's hand tightened a little more than necessary.

Caramel eyes glanced at black-green ones, and noted that he looked very wary as they walked. Yako often wondered why he always looked as though he were in constant danger whenever she would walk with him. She never asked him about it, though. It might be too prying of her.

So he walked her home and stayed for the night—inviting himself over at the Katsuragi household once again, not that Seiichi and Haruka complained. The couple had always been too happy to have him over—_"We're like a complete family! Now all we need is grandchildren and we'll be all set for a family portrait!" _Seiichi had once proclaimed to a laughing Haruka (Neuro had guffawed while Yako had hid her face in embarrassment). Yako noticed that he hadn't cone home since last week. Is he even missing his home, she wondered.

At least he was calling Zera to tell him that he was all right.

Yako wondered if the Nougami caretaker felt alone in that cold and empty house.

She also noticed that some of Neuro's (perfectly washed and clean) uniforms and shirts were sitting right inside her closet full of her day and night clothes back home. She swallowed a groan.

_His joke about him (probably) moving into the house must be slowly becoming true...!_

After finishing their dinner—all cooked by Miwako, for once, and Yako couldn't be any happier—and talking about the events of their day, Yako decided to have an idle chat with Neuro. Maybe he would open up about his personal matters, was what she had in mind as she finished brushing her teeth.

Upon entering her room, Yako saw Neuro lying on the bed—_her _bed—his phone clutched on one of his hands as he laid there with his eyes closed.

_He probably called someone. Or maybe it was the other way around?_

Yako slowly sat on her bed and looked at the digital clock on her dresser. Half past nine. She looked back to that calm face. Still not opening his eyes. Must be sleeping, she thought.

She laid down on her bed, facing that sleeping man, and Yako felt a sense of nostalgia rushing through her mind's eye.

He had always been a clingy person. Always going with her and dragging her to places where she would never normally go. Libraries, book sales, bookstores—or anywhere with proper reading materials that he could buy. She would often be seen somewhere with food and he would often be seen somewhere with books—that had always been their ideal places to hang out with.

On other times, it was him that she would drag to places where he would never usually go—restaurants, food stands and small shops that would offer delicious food for a small amount of money.

And it always ended up with the two of them spending all of their money by the end of the day because of their insatiable appetite for food and knowledge.

Yako giggled at the memory. Their weekends were used to be spent on buying various books and food and white puzzles (for Neuro's episodes of boredom). Thinking about it now, nothing had changed much since then.

She closed her eyes, one hand almost touching Neuro's, and she thought of his behavior throughout the years.

The way they met had been an accident on her part, an accident that she was quite thankful for. Smiling at the memory of how Neuro had first called her by name—coupled with saying his own name dramatically and flicking a middle finger to her bitty nose—she lightly held his hand.

He had always been eccentric. Often acting with the ego that filled his head.

That never stopped her from being with him, though.

His constant resolve to regularly cling onto her—literally and figuratively—had always been a question in her mind. Looking back to their younger and early days, she vaguely recalled that he hadn't always been this clingy.

Until that fateful day.

Opening her honey brown eyes, she bit her lip as buried and unwanted memories began to resurface in her mind. Yes, she was sure of it. Something had snapped inside Neuro that day. That day when he had found her bound and gagged and blindfolded and bruised and trapped inside a large bag of vinyl—_suffocating_—ready to be sold to revolting individuals otherwise known as pedophiles.

She will never forget the wide-eyed and phobic stare that she saw in those onyx and evergreen orbs. The tiny and clammy and uncharacteristically jerky hands that she felt on her battered flesh as he pulled her out of that claustrophobic plastic. The uncontrollably shaking little body that held her. The barely mumbled question as he weakly held her—"_Who hurt you?"_—as he tried to control his quivering frame. Those were the moments that will forever haunt her of what the now unyielding, fearless and prideful Nougami Neuro had once been—a scared little boy who didn't know what to do in the face of adversity.

The day after the kidnapping had been the start of Neuro's constant sharpness for everything around him and her. His unwavering resolve to watch over her like a vigilant hawk, never letting her go from his sight even for a minute.

He had became an eagle to Yako, always observing her, keeping a close eye on her and shielding her from the invisible dangers that may come her way.

She remembered how Neuro had once allowed her go to the restroom when they had finished eating in a fastfood chain after school. The then eleven-year-old boy had given her exactly ten seconds to finish her "peeing business". She also recalled how Neuro had been standing in front of the door of the ladies' room like an emotionless soldier, ignoring all the curious looks he had then received from both little girls and mothers alike, as Yako had finished with her business.

That had been the first and the last day that she went to public restrooms.

She learned how to control her bladder, to simply urinate once she was already in the safety of her home. No, she wouldn't let him look like a bodyguard standing near the ladies' restroom ever again. That day had been too humiliating for Yako. And Neuro had never once understood why.

Controlling the excretion of her body waste was the least of her worries. She couldn't even begin how to think of him if she dragged him to shop for clothes.

She laughed at the thought.

"What's so funny, Lunatic?"

She blinked as she looked straight into those pools of whirlwind green.

"...You've given me a new name, I see."

"Well, I wouldn't have if you weren't so keen on laughing by yourself. Has the food you have eaten this morning finally went to your lonely brain cell? Is a worm residing in your empty head? Shall I call on the asylum?" he asked with a blank smile.

His black sense of humor never failed to make Yako twitch.

His phone vibrated. He harrumphed.

Tossing his phone at the bottom of the bed, and ignoring Yako's cries of pity for the poor gadget, he snaked an arm around her and buried his nose on her scalp, inhaling the familiar scent of strawberry shampoo on her hair as he tried to control the roaring rage in his chest.

The phone kept on vibrating, sending tiny rounds of shivers on their socked feet.

"Neuro, shouldn't you answer that?" Yako asked as she peeked at his face. She immediately noticed that his jaw was tense. His Adam's apple bobbed, his shoulders and back were stiff as he held her. She met his eyes.

Her question was silently answered with a solemn frown and a quick furrow of eyebrows.

She felt his spidery fingers tightly clutching onto the back of her yellow tee as he pulled her close to him. She could feel and hear the wild hammering of his beating heart.

Something was wrong with Neuro.

And she was worried.

* * *

><p>The school festival had been a success—as it should be.<p>

A whole week of festivities. A whole week for the school to widely open its gates for the guests—parents, families, local students, students from other schools, former students of the institution and people who have been once part of the school were invited to the event. Entertaining the guests had taken its toll on the weary student body, but their efforts hadn't ended in naught.

Classes of all school years have reconstructed their classrooms for the event. Sporting different scenes from room to room—ranging from maid and butler cafés to Japanese historical plays, the guests were entertained to a degree.

Although it was Class 1-A that had taken the guests by storm.

Yako and Neuro's homeroom had been modified into a spooky vampire castle to entertain the guests. Everything had been filled with black, red and purple satin and velvet cloths for the Gothic effect. Thin cotton strips for the cobwebs on the corners of the "castle". Realistic toy spiders were hung from the doors. Grape juice (lightly laced with red wine) for the "vampires' blood"—which were then given to the "most beautiful and fairest of maidens" (all the female guests had then clamored for "Dracula's" attention). Red contacts and ghostly make-up for the Dracula. Short and flimsy costumes for the females. Dark and crisp suits for the males.

"In the end, we have to thank Miyasako-_san _for bringing us lots of customers!" Kanae chimed. And the whole class cheered.

Yako clapped as well as Mutsuki smiled and shyly waved at the class. Truly, it was her who had brought in a hoard of customers—which mainly consisted of males. Sure, even though all Mutsuki had done throughout the event was to simply stand near the classroom door in a maid's outfit giving out sweets to the passersby, it was the ultimate hoard-bringer, as Kanae had dubbed with a triumphant grin.

Jennifer also helped with the flow of customers, as much as Kanae would loathe to admit it—she never acknowledged the Scottish student, though. The still bruised girl had done nothing but to stand in a corner wearing a maid's uniform, too. But the added flair were the bandages beneath those frilly clothes. Some males who had been too busy staring at her—_glitter-showered—_bosom failed to notice that the bandages on her neck and arms and legs were not actual props, though. Besides, no classmate of hers had even bothered to ask if the bandages and red bruises on her face were real or not. She had become a wallflower in the class since the incident with Yako's bleeding nose, it seemed.

Neuro had also been a major contributor to the class, albeit he did it only because Yako wouldn't stop whining about the amount of food being given on the day of the festival itself. And if hadn't agreed with her and her gluttony, he would have dealt with an earful of a wailing Yako. And he wouldn't have that.

Standing by the classroom door and donned in a crisp black Victorian shirt with a white cravat around his neck, along with finely-ironed black slacks and a pair of perfectly polished black gentlemen's shoes, Neuro had hauled a massive amount of female customers, even double than that of the amount of the male customers.

On those three days of the school festival, he could have taken all of the female school population in his class with his looks alone—and he wasn't even the designated Dracula!—only if it weren't for the clearly visible scowl on his face the whole time he stood there on those three days.

Kanae had bowed and performed the kowtow profusely to Neuro just to make him agree to her decision—_"If it's Nougami-san, then we wouldn't have to worry!"_—and in the end, it had been Yako who had made him (reluctantly) agree.

_Only if it weren't for those promising and delicious words, _Neuro thought with a hum.

Neuro and Yako had made a deal. A very tempting one, too—he mentally added. Should Neuro comply with Kanae's request—_"You don't have to be Dracula if you really don't want to, Neuro!"_—Yako would be his completely submissive and willing slave for a week. And that she would never complain about it.

She didn't know what had entered her mind when she blurted out those words to Neuro. No doubt with hearing those words from Yako's mouth alone, the wildfire of rumors about them being an item would flame even higher than the heavens—she winced at the thought. _Curse my confusing words!_

On the other hand, those had been the magic words for Neuro.

The broad and salacious leer on those thin (and sinful) lips, coupled with that licentious glint on those deep green eyes—he had given her _that _look.

And seeing that expression on Neuro's face alone had Yako thinking of reconsidering her promise to him. Not that she would (_could_) back out on her word—_but this is Neuro we're talking about!_

Kanae's speech had ended with a roar of cheers. They had won first place for the class with having the most number of customers in three days straight.

Yako looked at Neuro from the corner of her eye.

That same questionable and lecherous grin was displayed on his pale face. His wide green eyes solely aimed at caramel ones.

Yako quickly turned her head to the blackboard.

She had been feeling a bit queasy since she had said that promise to him three days ago. She could also feel a sense of dread from the pit of her stomach every time she walked and held hands with him.

Not good.

Neuro had been looking at her—devouring her with his eyes as they walked, she could feel it on her heated skin—and she was sure that he had been acting extra clingy for the past three nights when they would go to sleep. He used to have only one arm wrapped around her, and then for the past three nights, it became two—the other one being usually tucked beneath her head, and his bicep had acted as a warm pillow for her. She hadn't complained for that treatment at all. In fact, she found it quite endearing.

Thank goodness nothing was happening between them, though! It was a blessing for Yako, she concluded. That unwavering self-control of his. She had heard numerous stories about some boyfriends abandoning their girlfriends once they knew that he and the girl had made a baby out of wedlock. It had always been something that terrified her. The responsibility of raising a child out of wedlock and—

—_why am I thinking about this again? We're not even a couple! __  
><em>

She bit her lip and her eyes looked at her prickly yellow bracelet. Pushing its slightly sharp edges on her wrist helped her calm down. The sensation of having that thorny feeling on her wrist soothed her, in a way.

...

_...I'm becoming a masochist, huh._

* * *

><p>The silent sound of the wind had never felt so beautiful to his ears.<p>

After struggling with those energy-draining festivities that Neuro had always hated for all of his school life, it was at times like these that he wanted nothing but absolute peace and quiet.

Sleep had been beckoning his body for quite some time now, but he ignored its sweet temptation. There were more pressing matters at hand.

Like the peacefully sleeping little snail he had sticking on his person.

Neuro grunted.

"Stupid ragdoll. Sleeping on me like I'm her mattress."

He flicked his middle finger to her nose. She only twitched her lip and rubbed her nose, and she slept on.

Heavy sleeper.

He sighed, closing his eyes and body delving into the feel of the wind on his hair as he leaned on the cold rails of the rooftop.

Yes. Peace and blissful quiet.

He wasn't one for nature, but just for once, he would let it pass. The weather was with accordance to his mood―all warm and sunny with an occasional whoosh of the cool breeze of May, and no dark clouds in sight. Just how Neuro liked it.

The door leading to the roof's stairwell clicked, and Kanae entered into the open view. She smiled as soon as she saw him.

Just like how Neuro _didn't _like it.

He eyed her warily. Yako's friend had always tried to take away his little piglet's attention from him, and he never liked it one bit.

His arms coiled around Yako even tighter, but not enough to rouse her from sleep. He knew just how important it was to people. Besides, Yako always needed a well-rounded rest.

She needed the energy to withstand Neuro's daily torture.

Green eyes saw Kanae sit beside him, and he tensed. He had never liked her anywhere near him, or Yako, for that matter.

"Um, hello," Kanae nervously greeted, chocolate brown eyes trying hard to look away from the intimate-looking scene in front of her. It wasn't everyday that Kanae could see this rare side of Yako―all snoozing and quiet and looking very much comfortable lying on Neuro's rising and falling chest.

She willed away a rush of blood to her powder-puffed face.

"Hello, Yako's friend," he curtly replied in a hushed whisper, as to not disturb the girl sleeping on his chest. There was no use for cheerful greetings. No one was there to hear them, after all―no use to keep up appearances.

He grinned as Yako's best friend looked away with a fierce blush. Him leaning on the rails and Yako looking far too snug in his long and protective arms―looking at them now, it was something that Kanae always vied to have in a relationship, a princess and her knight. She swallowed a dreamy sigh as she looked at the tall man resting his head on the cool metal of the railings.

_Beware of us! _his gleaming eyes seemed to say.

She averted his forest green gaze.

With her eyes still glued on the cold concrete, and Yako still sleeping soundly on that body, she gulped and spoke, her voice cracking and her words hesitant.

"Um, is it... all right if we could talk? I mean, if it's all right with you."

She then looked at him, and noted that he became somewhat apprehensive. She chewed on her lip. Kanae had always been fearful of those wide, evergreen eyes. She wondered how Yako had gotten used to seeing them everyday.

Though she secretly admitted that his eyes had always held a certain charm, and she was certainly sure that―

"Oh, shall I wake Yako up?" Neuro asked, pushing all thoughts of his―quite charming―eyes at the back of her mind as he spoke with that deep baritone that she could never get used to.

She shook her head furiously.

"Oh no, please don't wake her up! Yako looks tired and I wouldn't want to interrupt and I was talking about you!"

Neuro, who was silently looking at Yako's hair clips, stilled, his shoulders hunched as he turned and looked at her with that same guarded look.

"What for."

She gulped. She would never get used to that baritone voice of his.

"Um. What I wanted to say is―I just want to know, Nougami-_san_, if you don't mind me asking―"

He looked at the sleeping Yako once more, his thumb idly tracing lazy patterns on her shoulder, "I do mind."

"―why you always seem to hold Yako on high regard?" she finally asked with bated breath. She ignored that he had just interrupted her. She really wanted to know why. What was it about Yako that seemed to magnetize Neuro completely to her? She wanted to know—it was for her sake, after all. She needed to mend her relationship with Yuuya and her best friend and her best friend's best—_classmate?_—seem to be the best choice to ask for advice.

_He must be thinking that I'm such a meddling person!_

Neuro hummed and looked at her, his face void of emotion as he leaned on the rails, his right hand now threading itself on Yako's hair as he thought of how to answer her question. He inwardly groaned.

_Women and their stupidly trivial ponderings._

He opened his mouth to speak, his mind forming words that he would say to this nosy girl.

"I only need to do what I have to do. Yako is still too weak to function in this disgusting and filthy world." There. That was his answer.

It didn't seem to be the words that Kanae had wanted to hear, though, judging from her face contorted in confusion.

"...That's all?"

"I believe it is. Yako is still too fragile and it's because of those fickle emotions that ruled her mind. Or should I say 'heart'. If left alone, she will be eaten whole by this traitorous mass of humans and she will end up tattered because of that weak heart of hers. She'd be a torn and used up washcloth, should I say."

Kanae held her breath as he spoke. Those words sounded like something an adult would likely say. His wisdom surpassed his young age.

It almost sounded as if―

"Nougami-_san_, did―something happen to you before?"

"Nothing. Why?"

Well, that was a very quick reply. A little too quick for Kanae's taste. She pursed her lips, and noted that Neuro had not stopped smoothing Yako's hair as he talked, his fingers very careful not to bump on the teeth-like little hairclips on her head. The sleeping girl shifted, and Kanae thought for a second that she might wake up, but she didn't. She merely shifted, and buried her head further in the crook of Neuro's neck as her hands coiled themselves around his arm. Yako slept on, her mouth slightly open as Neuro calmly ran his fingers through her hair. _"Ssh,"_ Kanae heard him whisper to Yako's ear.

It was a rare sight to see, this calm and affectionate side of Nougami Neuro. She wondered if Yako ever knew this veiled aspect of him.

Kanae decided to ask him another question.

"Do you like her?"

That was a quick diversion from the winding and gloomy topic that they were about to talk about.

Again with the no-nonsense tone and those ever watchful eyes, he deadpanned, "Why do you ask?"

She scratched her arm as she looked away, towards Yako's socks this time, as she mustered a choked laugh. Scratching her head awkwardly and smiling lopsidedly, she arranged her wayward thoughts.

"Well, you're always with her, for one. And you never let her out of your sight for even a moment. And you protect her all the time. And you hang out only with her and no one else, not even with our male classmates. And not to mention that you two always go to school and home together every day while holding hands and you two have matching bracelets and―eh heh―I think the only thing that's missing is for you two to sleep in the same bed every night! ...Haha!"

Her last sentence was meant to be a joke, something to lighten up the mood in the sudden awkward atmosphere she was feeling as she looked at those ethereal jade eyes.

She hadn't expected that Neuro would sharply answer her with a curt―

"But we are sleeping in the same bed."

Kanae's face paled.

―and he said it with a straight face, too!

Seconds seemed to stretch to minutes. Her simply looking at this strange and untouchable man's passive face.

Hearing nothing from the inquisitive girl for a couple of minutes, Neuro smiled. The undeniable shock written on Kanae's face was enough to lift his sour mood.

And he managed to avoid her question, too!

"Oh, do you want me to wake Yako up now? I'm sure she won't mind. She's adaptable like that. Besides, she had been sleeping like a log on me for the past 45 minutes, she could use a break from her little nap, I think. She could recover her lost sleep at night, you know. She always eats a hefty amount of snacks right before she goes to bed, anyway."

That voice laced with false cheer reached Kanae's ears once again.

Kanae was adamant on Neuro not to wake up the sleeping Yako―despite her wanting to just squeal and ask him about what he had meant when he said that he was sleeping with her best friend―but her pleas on not to wake her up were snatched from her throat as Neuro, in fact, started to wake the slumbering Yako lying in his arms and chest.

Kanae gaped.

He had carefully woken her, all right―all without the whispered words about food like she had seen before at the infirmary―

Neuro had woken Yako with the use of his tongue and mouth―lips void of words―

―he kissed the sleeping girl. With his mouth. And tongue. He lapped at Yako's glossed lips like a hungry wolf and―oh.

Yako finally opened her eyes. Recognition slowly settled in her now reddened face, and her tiny hands instantly moved―_That's it, Yako! Slap him on the face! Don't let a man control you! _

―and wormed their way on Neuro's hair.

Kanae's eyes widened and she covered her open mouth with her manicured hands.

She watched as Yako's still hazy and sleep-induced caramel eyes closed once again and reciprocated Neuro's heated kiss with a wild suck on his tongue―its vulgar sounds echoing in the wind.

Moist and fiery tongues met and lapped at each other. Mouths opened wide and teeth nipped at swollen lips and―

Kanae blinked in amazement. She wanted to look away from this―_ohthisissoeroticgodIwantthat_―very lascivious display of affection. But she couldn't.

Not with that sizzling hot mess of a man ravishing her best friend's mouth! And Kanae was in front of them!

She tried to calm her racing heart and her rapidly perspiring body. _It's like watching porn, only ten times better! Wait. What. __  
><em>

Their hands had now tumbled across a blanket of clothes that served as their uniform. The distinct sounds of moaning accompanied the silent shifting of their limbs.

Kanae gulped. She had to look away. Look away lookawaylook―

A sliver of saliva dripped down Neuro's chin as he kept on French-kissing Yako. Kanae wondered if Yako had noticed her at all and―

―_ohthisissogood―_

Murky green-black eyes darted over to the petrified―_or was it excited?_―Kanae that was now gulping and twitching uncontrollably on the cold concrete. Those knees looked like they were trembling as she sat on.

He grinned within Yako's abused lips as green eyes returned to that flushed face―honey brown eyes still firmly closed and thin eyebrows still furrowed as she kissed him with much fervor. _Good girl, Yako._

With one last playful bite to her lower lip and a quick swish of his tongue on hers, he broke the wet kiss they shared, and earned a hankering and mournful whine from a barely sated Yako as he wiped his chin on his sleeve. He grinned as he eyed her dazed form. From those glossy brown eyes that seemed to set him on fire (for the most sinful of reasons), to those small and shaky hands that were gripping his hair, to those puffy and succulent lips that tasted of cherry (_no doubt from the lip balm she uses all the time_), to those dewy cheeks and that tempting dart of bubblegum pink tongue―he shivered.

Oh, if only he knew―

_I would have done this years ago if this is the reaction I would get from her all the time._

He bit her ear, she gasped, and collapsed on his chest once again, and whispered huskily to her soft and ruddy lips.

"We have company, little kitten."

It was then that Yako, for the first time in a while, uttered a lone word. A hushed "eh" came out of her confused state as her still hazy brown eyes tried to decipher the look on his face.

He smiled broadly, and lightly cocked his head to his left with an amused quirk of an eyebrow. And Yako, still unsure of what he was trying to say, lifted her head from the crook of his chin and looked to the left as what he vaguely indicated, and muddy brown eyes instantly popped.

"Kanae-_chan_!" she squeaked, and her hands unintentionally yanked on Neuro's hair.

The bite to her neck afterwards had stolen her attention away from her friend.

So Yako bit Neuro's ear as a form of revenge.

She could definitely feel his lips smiling through her dainty neck.

Kanae curled her toes from within her shoes.

Sleep and blissful dreams of delicious food now long gone since she saw Kanae's blushing face, Yako mustered a tiny simper to her friend's direction, her hand lightly tapping Neuro's upper arm―

―she really needed him to let go of her now.

Blowing a rush of warm air to her ear, a quiet whisper echoed in Yako's now alert consciousness.

"_I'm giving you ten minutes to talk with that friend of yours. If you're late by a second when you return here, I'm going to make sure to leave a huge and visible mark on that breakable neck of yours that could never be hidden by that liberal amount of concealer you slabbed on your skin―"_

Yako immediately pulled away from Neuro and hurriedly stood, dragging a dumbfounded Kanae with her to the door. She was sure that a blank smile was plastered on that face of his.

* * *

><p>"Um. You didn't have to see that," Yako quickly explained―or tried to―as she fought with the heat burning her face, simultaneously looking away from her friend as she nervously twiddled with her fingers.<p>

Kanae herself looked away, her cheeks still flushed from the heated display of affection she had seen mere moments ago. She nodded silently, her mind trying to steadfastly calm her erratic heart down. Once her mind was free from the mental images of her best friend's unexpected act of indecency, she looked at Yako, and her previously speechless face morphed into a sinister leer, her countenance now looking smug as she nudged her playfully.

"Hmmm? I didn't know that the rumors were true―if I had known, I would have taken lotsa pictures of you two last week. Naughty little girl!" she laughed, and Yako was sure that Kanae had perfectly imitated a wicked witch's laugh, right down to the villainy "ho ho"s.

Yako's eye twitched.

"I'm sure ya didn't see me the whole time you were making out with him, didja? You were too caught up with kissing him so roughly―"

Yako's blush returned tenfold, and Kanae could see that her neck had also turned red.

She smirked.

* * *

><p>In the end, she had forgotten to ask Yako if she really was sleeping with Neuro. In her mind, it was a figurative sense of the word, "sleeping". She had forgotten to ask Neuro if what he meant was the literal sense.<p>

Yako didn't get her punishment, much to Neuro's dismay. She was a couple of seconds earlier than her ten-minute limit. In compensation for tugging his hair, he bit her forehead instead.

* * *

><p>Yako ate her fifth bowl of sukiyaki as she struggled with her homework.<p>

Her thoughts had been in a whirl lately since Neuro dropped her off two hours ago.

It was rare that he would simply drop her off. He only came to her room to happily sweep her off her feet as painfully as could and had only swung her upside down.

She was thankful for her quick reflexes to cover up her underwear with her skirt as he twirled her rapidly by her poor feet and tossed her perfectly on the bed, cackling madly all the while.

She wondered if her parents had heard her horrified screams earlier.

She guessed not.

_He made it out alive, anyway. Besides, he doesn't even live here. He has a home. Although a quite sadder one, I think._

Yako looked at the pictures Kanae had given her earlier. She smiled as she remembered how Neuro had almost―_almost_―threatened her best friend in the nicest way possible. (_"Eeh. Could you delete all those files in your camera, Yako's friend? It would be nice if you could. We wouldn't want to end up in the papers, right?"_)

Yako laughed. Kanae thought he had meant the school newspapers, but she was wrong. Oh-so-utterly-wrong.

"I bet he means the daily morning newspapers in broadsheets. The sadistic beast."

She toyed with the edges of one of the pictures she had been given. In her hand was the funniest picture she had seen in the bunch.

A picture of Neuro scowling at the camera in his puffy Victorian clothes.

She guffawed at his expression. Teeth and lips curled in a snarl. Evergreen eyes sharp and narrowed―and looked ready to kill―and thin eyebrows almost knotted at the middle of his face.

"Oh, Neuro would kill her if he sees this!"

She went silent as her eyes scanned another picture, this time, of him and her.

The picture was taken in their homeroom during their short periods of break in the afternoon on the second day of the festival. He was sitting on a chair, still in his stuffy Victorian costume, his head leaning on the wall, napping; and Yako was with him, dressed in her little maid uniform (that was covered in Neuro's overcoat, for some reason―she couldn't remember when it had been on her), her head leaning on his shoulder with her eyes closed.

"This looks nice," she whispered to herself, and she tucked the little picture in her wallet, smiling softly as she did so.

* * *

><p>Eating her breakfast in school, in the classroom, while class was going on, felt somehow a little conspicuous.<p>

So she ate silently every time Fumio turned his back to write on the blackboard. Yako tried to hide the wrappers of her eaten cheeseburgers, she really tried, but she was having a hard time stuffing and hiding every wrapper in her bag.

It was starting to overflow from its confines, and the wrappers' smell was starting to stick to her notebooks.

Fumio faced the class, ready to start his lecture, when his eyes landed on Yako, who was finishing her fiftieth cheeseburger. He had been trying to ignore the soft sounds of chewing and crinkling of burger wrappers when he was writing the lesson on the board. Poor girl must have not eaten yet, he thought.

He saw that Yako immediately swallowed the food in one gulp as soon as he faced the class.

He sighed.

"Katsuragi."

She quickly smacked her lips to remove the remnants of bread left behind there, "Yes?"

Looking at the girl now, he really didn't know when she would be full. He scratched his chin, feeling defeated with the decision he had in his mind as he took his large cardboard triangle. It was his favorite teaching tool.

He blinked at the blinking girl.

"You can take out the food from your bag if you're really that hungry. Just don't interrupt the class."

A whoop of delight erupted from her lips as she took out the remaining 35 cheeseburgers from her bag and put them on her lap and desk. Ignoring the amused smiles and giggles from her nearby classmates―_"Yako-sama looks so happy!"_―she held her food in one hand and held her pencil with the other, and realized that her notebook was now buried beneath a pile of hamburgers. She smiled, nonetheless. A muffled thanks was given to Fumio.

He returned her thanks with a lopsided smile.

He could never win from this girl.

"You've never eaten in class hours before, Katsuragi. What happened?"

She tried to speak through her stuffed mouth, hands flailing as she conveyed them in vague body language instead. Then she felt a sharp kick on the back of her head. She turned around with nearly-crying eyes.

"_Don't talk with your mouth full, vermin."_

She swallowed her food and turned back to the Math teacher.

"My mother cooked food this morning, you see. So I decided to live and buy fastfood from the station instead," she said with a little laugh.

The man blinked and scratched his stubble, not quite following her statement, "Eh? So what if she cooked? Is it bad?"

A strained and quirky smile was etched on her face as she idly scratched her chin, "Um. Sort of. Kinda. Yeah. Really bad. I mean, really, _really _bad. But I still live!"

And the class erupted in laughter.

Behind her, Neuro's eyes softened as she talked.

* * *

><p>"That little scene you made on second period caused quite a stir, piglet."<p>

Yako sighed, "Don't remind me of it, dummy."

She pouted as they walked, her candle-like fingers clasped onto his. Rain had been pouring since noon, and Neuro had been more torturous towards Yako than she had remembered. Probably his way to blow off some steam, Yako thought as she put on her shoes.

Fumio and the class had laughed at Yako's sense of humor as she ate in Math period this morning, and soon after, the whole class gave her food—for lunch, they had said. And after that, Fumio decided to just let them eat, since the whole class had been distracted by Yako's overwhelming amount of food on her desk; he permitted it, as long as he could build his cardboard teacher's table in peace.

The painful pinches on her cheeks that followed her "rounds of gluttony" marked as Neuro's start of treating her as his slave.

_When was I not his slave, anyway._

They were about to go home for the day, umbrellas ready to shelter them from the rain, when Kanae popped in front of Yako, startling her.

"Kanae-_chan_!"

"Fufu―Found you!"

"What's with the laugh at the beginning?"

"Hmm?"

That tone was a playful one. A tone that Kanae only used whenever she was plotting something.

It made Yako nervous.

"Oh, hello, Yako's friend!"

Kanae twitched upon hearing that high-pitched greeting, "H-hello, Nougami-_san_." He smiled an innocent smile as he stood behind Yako, his hands now firmly placed on her shoulders as he eyed her with cheerfulness. Kanae ignored that deceptive smile.

"Say, Yako! I was thinking of us going to the movies tonight. There's this Western movie that I've seen on the trailers that reminded me of Battle Royale―"

"Do we get to have some snacks?" was her immediate question, eyes hopeful as she bounced on her feet.

Kanae's enthusiasm fell, and her shoulders slumped, "It's always food with you, isn't it. But, yes, we can get some snacks."

Yako instantly checked her wallet and squealed, "I have enough for one ticket. And I think ten buckets of popcorn will be enough. No wait. Maybe I need more than that. Oh, well."

She laughed, and Kanae knew that Yako was battling with her inner self not to buy every scrap of food in the theater if she wanted to have savings by the end of the week.

Chocolate brown eyes glanced at Neuro's smiling face, his green eyes wide and bright for everyone to see. She really wanted to ask him about yesterday, but it didn't seem that he was keen on answering her—oh!

"Yako, you could also bring Nougami-_san_ along, if you like."

"Eh? But I thought it's a girls-only nigh―"

"I can come along? Why, that's great! How generous of you, Yako's friend! You hear that, Yako? I can go with you!" and he nuzzled his cheek on her scalp quite excitedly. Yako's face twitched as she eyed Kanae with dismay, ignoring the feeling of her hair being tousled by his slightly pointed chin like a mop of rags.

Her friend was planning something.

_I have to be ready for traps!_

* * *

><p>This was not what they had expected. What Yako had been actually looking forward to for the whole day was a long rest, not a movie night. What Neuro had been actually looking forward to for the whole day was to torture Yako in her room as his "willing and submissive little slave".<p>

Why had they agreed to this again?

As soon as Yako went home and stormed to her room, followed by a happy-looking Neuro―_"You invited yourself in my room again!"_―he immediately opened her closet and quickly scanned its contents.

"Neuro. That's my closet and―my clothes!"

She panicked as she tried to catch every single article of her clothing that was now being carelessly thrown over Neuro's shoulder.

"Where did you put my shirt, you flea?" he asked as he continued to throw her clothes while burying half of himself in the closet. Indeed, during the numerous times that he had stayed over, some of his clothes had managed to end up in her ambry (usually over the weekend). And he would get them all nice and clean for him to wear later on. Miwako always did a perfect job on keeping his clothes perfectly fresh—_unlike that slab of green pus caretaker of mine_.

She sighed as she tossed all of her clothes on her bed. A new name for her little self. _Since when was I a flea?_

"It's in the back."

"Oh, here it is."

Rolling her eyes and praying for her temper not to blow up—unless she wanted a painful spanking later on—she crossed her arms, "Good. Now that you found your shirt, put my clothes back where it came from."

He craned his neck as his hands fumbled with more of her (and some of his) clothes hanging in the closet, smiling wickedly all the while, "Oh? The pathetic and lowly drudge dares to order her master around? Shall I remind her again who was it that promised me to be 'his obedient and submissive slave'?"

That blank smile.

Yako's face paled.

Not good.

"Neuro, I―"

He turned his back on her, hands now messing up her perfectly folded clothes on the lower compartment, and an echoing hoot made Yako jump. "Yako, look what I found hidden in your smelly closet!" he chirped as he gleefully held out a thin piece of―

Yako gasped.

"That's my mom's!"

Facing her fully, Neuro blinked as he inspected the thin sheet of whatever-it-was in his hands, "Then why is it in your closet?"

"She gave it to me last year! Put it back!"

His curious eyes scrutinized the thin sheet of fabric in his hands. It mildly interested him the moment he saw it. It was something that didn't look like a proper blouse at all, it looked too transparent, and it intrigued him. Frankly, he had never seen anything like it. Or maybe he was just too busy reading books to care about women's clothes and their finicky odd sense of fashion for his taste.

Cocking his head this way and that, lips jutted and eyebrows slightly raised, he tried to memorize each and every detail the sheer piece of clothing had to offer.

Flimsy and gossamer pink cloth. Too light. A fluff of white feathers around the hems. Too tiny to be a dress. Spaghetti straps. Two, small white ribbons on the bu―_what the hell is this_.

The sound of his name being butchered in the noisiest way possible reached his ears. He didn't mind it much though, as his mind was too jumbled to process the questionable creation of the thing in his hand.

"Now, why would your mother give you this frivolous little thing? It hides nothing!"

"It's a babydoll! I don't know why she gave it to me! She said something about wearing that on their honeymoon!"

Neuro was silent for a couple of minutes, his eyes wide and practically burning holes at the garment, looking far too disgusted to actually utter a rational response. When he did―he actually looked aghast.

"...What in hell's name has your mother been up to. She wore baby clothes as an adult?"

As much as Yako wanted to smack him on the head, she couldn't. Heaving a sigh, she explained in a way that won't be easily misunderstood. He may be utterly intelligent, but when it comes to the most basic of things such as underwear, he was a complete nut. Not that she would say that to his face.

"Neuro. A babydoll is a type of lingerie. Now, don't give me disturbing images of my mother dressed in that. Just throw it back in the closet where I could never set my eyes on it."

He was silent for a moment, eyeing the sheer negligee perched on his fingers with a thoughtful look.

"Lingerie, eh... Hm. Do you want to wear this―"

"No!"

"Heh."

* * *

><p>Watching a movie had never felt so suffocating for Yako.<p>

She huddled close to her seat as the movie's introduction started to roll. Neuro sat on her left, his demeanor surprisingly stiff and his face utterly void of any emotion as he sat with his back straight, his arms lying on the armrests, eyes perfectly glued not to the screen, but to the person beside Kanae.

Higuchi Yuuya.

On their way to the theater earlier, she never said anything about bringing along that―_filthy piece of human trash_―person. And Neuro felt his temper flare the moment he saw him standing there beside that friend of Yako's. He was sure that he had added Kanae to his mental hitlist since that moment.

Yako, on the other hand, had stood like a statue upon seeing the bespectacled man with her friend. She had quickly hid herself behind Neuro as they approached them, then, her brown eyes too wary upon seeing his profile.

Kanae, as she had explained to a weirdly behaving Neuro and Yako a few moments ago, told them that she had seen Yuuya on the school this morning, and upon hearing that he worked in school―_"Hi-kun is now a technician in our school!"_―Kanae immediately asked him to hang out with her for the night.

Too bad she hadn't mentioned that Neuro and Yako would be coming along.

Their brief reacquaintance was too distant, as though meeting him again was the hardest encounter they had ever seen. Kanae had seen it―the way Yako had carefully ducked behind Neuro's back like a scared child, the way Neuro's eyes had narrowed just a fraction at Yuuya, and a tiny frown had made its way on his face as Yuuya had awkwardly said his greetings.

Kanae remembered how the odd couple had only curtly nodded, despite the obvious discomfort in their faces, both of them trying to be polite in the most detached manner.

They remained that way until now.

Yako lightly nudged Neuro's elbow, and he briefly looked at her with a frown―_"Neuro, don't"_―upon hearing those two words, he silently complied as he turned his eyes on the screen, his right arm placed firmly over Yako's left as he willed to calm the anger boiling inside him.

Kanae, sensing that the awkward tension had been lifted just the tiniest bit, opted to grin at Yako, who was staring at the ten buckets of popcorn at their feet. She picked one with her right hand—butter-flavored—balanced it between her legs, and began to eat.

"Did you know, some people liked the version of the books more. I wanted to buy the first part of the series, but it's English, you see. And there's over 300 pages of it. I couldn't read it that much. Eh heh."

Yako forced a smile through the popcorn filling her mouth, her eyes not looking at Kanae, but at to Yuuya who was trying hard not to look at them, "Ish tha' so?" For once, Neuro didn't hit her head for talking with her mouth full. Or maybe he was feeling too guarded to care.

Kanae nodded upon hearing that tone filled with apathy. _She's still tense._

They turned their eyes to the screen and silently watched as the first scene appeared. In a hushed whisper, she elbowed Neuro as she grinned, "The title makes me hungry." He laughed, "Everything makes you hungry. You already hoarded every snack in the theater." She giggled, "But I like to eat. Just as how you like to read."

He chuckled.

* * *

><p>"I bet I'm going to be killed on the first five seconds if I were there."<p>

"Oh, come now, Yako! That's just a movie. It won't happen. I think."

"But if I were to do it for the food, I think I could win tha―ouch!"

"Silly piggy. You won't last for a minute. Those elephant legs of yours will be your downfall!"

"Don't pinch me, dummy! And I don't have elephant legs!"

"I don't know about you two, but I know that I liked the one with the cool and swirly beard. All manly and mysterious! Although I think he needed more screentime. The male leads were flops, in my opinion. What did you like about the movie?" Kanae asked Yako with a broad smile. The tension around them was still there, but at least they had something to talk to.

"I liked the food."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Kanae sighed, "What about you, Nougami-_san_?"

"The killings. And those berries. What I wouldn't give to have those nightlock berries in my hands right now."

The crazed blank smile that he sported made Kanae take a step back as they walked.

Yako merely laughed, though.

"I bet they would be tasty if they weren't poisonous. It must be nice to put them in a hot pot―"

"I'll put some insecticide in your food instead."

"You wouldn't dare!"

He guffawed, his hand holding Yako's as they walked, and Kanae felt that there was a barrier between her and them.

And they hadn't spared Yuuya a glance, either. Not even a bit of an effort to start a conversation with him. She glanced at the 17-year-old, and noticed that he was looking at them warily, as well.

_What on earth happened between these three?_

* * *

><p>"All of them look delicious! I'll just have everything in the menu, please! Oh, yeah. What would you guys like?" Yako asked with a wide grin as she handed the menu back to the stunned waitress.<p>

After going to the movies, they had decided to have dinner at the nearest restaurant (Yako decided the place, actually, simply because it served steaks).

Their meal was served after ten minutes, and idle chat flowed within the table, and occasional pauses were heard as they ate. Yako ordered another round of everything on the menu just as Kanae and Yuuya had finished their meal, and when the food came after half an hour, Neuro stole and ate half of her well-cooked steak, much to Yako's dismay.

"You sure can eat," commented Yuuya as he stared at the numerous stacks of plates on the table, half of it already filled.

Neuro looked up from his nearly finished plate and glared at him. He knew that he was talking about his ragdoll―he wouldn't dare to look at Neuro in the eye, anyway, let alone talk to him; the amount of plates beside Neuro were combined with Yako's, both of them consuming 35 plates of food―but he couldn't help but to pulverize him to dust when he addressed her in such a way.

She swallowed her lettuce and strained a smile, "Uh, yeah. I can find deliciousness in every food."

Neuro stepped on her foot beneath the table. Yako hid her wince as she resumed eating.

Kanae saw through that forced smile, though.

* * *

><p>Forty thousand yen had been spent on her food alone tonight. That was on Yako's tab, naturally.<p>

She sighed as she plopped on her bed, tossing her empty wallet on the dresser.

"Something wrong, glutton?"

Tired brown eyes turned to equally tired green ones. They had returned home at nine o'clock, and Seiichi, who had just gotten home from work then, had a box of pizza that was on the table. Yako immediately ate it. Neuro sat beside her, blank face perfectly in place as he shoved a pizza down her throat when the Katsuragi couple turned their backs.

It had ended up with Yako's tongue getting numb from the amount of hot sauce Neuro had poured in that slice of pizza.

Yako's tongue curled from within her mouth as she faced Neuro. It still felt numb.

"Kanae-_chan_ sensed that something was wrong earlier. And she didn't mention anything about Yukinori-_san_ earlier to Higuchi-_san_. I think she'll be in deep water in no time if Yukinori-_san _finds out about this."

Neuro laughed, and his eyes rested on the ceiling above him, "Psh. I wouldn't care less. As long as that slimy green lecher is a mile away from you, then it's fine by me."

"You're still mad about that, huh."

"Hmph. Damn prick tried to look at what I haven't looked at for more than nine years. It's only fair for me to loathe him."

Yako scoffed as she hit Neuro's arm, he was looking far too serious with this, "Whaddya mean you 'haven't looked at'? You're not going to see it! Like hell I'd let you!"

"Heh. Shall we test that theory?"

"No."

"You really don't want to?"

"No."

"Tsk. My little dishrag is disobeying me again despite her promising me to be my slave for eternity―"

"I didn't say that, idiot. And―you're hovering on mmphf―"

He was becoming a tad too addicted with kissing her, so much that he wanted to take whatever skin she had exposed and ravish it to the fullest. But he wouldn't. Not now, at least.

Placing a kiss on her left shoulder, he felt Yako slowly licking his neck―a rare gesture from his little snail. She, too, had become accustomed to this new nightly ritual of theirs. Her effort was appreciated nonetheless, as he returned her affection with a hidden red mark on her neck. She didn't seem to mind it much, as she moaned and kept on licking his neck, tongue now travelling to his Adam's apple.

Neuro bent his neck in a way that would grant Yako more access to his skin. It was at times like these, truthfully, that he wanted them to just get married and get it over with, but no. There were times when he would have to wait. He was willing to wait as long as he would get her in the end.

Enclosing her lips on that bobbing and jutting bone, she flicked her tongue and hummed on it, its trickles of vibration sending a smile to Neuro's face.

The two of them making out was becoming a regular occurrence since the day he first kissed her. Both of them had nothing to say on it, though. Their actions speak louder than their unified moans and gasps―

"_I'm telling you they're probably asleep, honey."_

Eyes widening and bodies stiffening at the sound of Haruka's voice, they hurriedly scrambled away from each other, both of them moving on each far side of the bed's corners. They didn't bother with the blankets.

Haruka opened Yako's bedroom door and sighed.

"See? What did I tell you? You're jumping to conclusions, dear."

"But they said they went to the movie! That justifies as a date!"

"Hush! You'll wake them up. And haven't you heard? Yako told us earlier that they'll be with Kanae-_chan_ and Higuchi-_kun_. They weren't alone!"

"But doesn't that mean that they just had a double date?"

Haruka's footfalls were heard as the door creaked in her hold, saying something about her husband being too paranoid.

"Neuro is a nice young man. He won't harm our daughter. And if he dated her, so what? I want him to marry her someday. Have you forgotten that it was him who saved her life all those years ago? We could have lost her if it weren't for him. A courageous young man such as Neuro should be with my little girl, don't you think?"

Seiichi sighed, "But I still think―"

"Dear, leave the poor kids alone. Look at them! The tips of their fingers don't even touch because the gap between them is too large! And blame yourself for the futon you threw before."

Mumbled apologies were heard, and the door was shut.

Neuro and Yako opened their eyes and turned over to their sides, voices silent as they heard the sounds of Haruka's voice reverberating in the halls. Both of them wore frowns on their faces as Neuro smiled.

"_Problem averted."_

Yako laughed, "You cunning imp."


	9. Consuetudo

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

**A/N:** To inkquill: OAO Thank you so much! I've worked hard to find a style that would suit me, and to improve the way I write out scenes. So this coming from the readers is quite too much for my little heart to take. XD *cries tears of joy*

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine: Consuetudo <strong>

* * *

><p>"So you knew she was there the whole damn time and you didn't tell me?"<p>

"What. I thought you knew?"

"Ugh. You know quite damn well I don't act like myself every time I have just woken up. You dummy did that on purpose."

He chuckled, "I did that for our sake."

She scoffed, nudging his arm as she ate her sundae with a pout, "How?"

He took a stick of strawberry pocky from her bowl, and, ignoring her wail, he smiled, "It's to know who you belong to, of course. With her knowing it, it should serve as a warning, to her and to anyone who will try to come near you. And besides, I've never heard you complain about it. Have you remembered the way you whined when I pulled away?" The blush on her face rivaled the color of the cherry topped on her ice cream, seeing it was enough proof on how much she had craved for the contact of his lips on hers.

Oh, he was so proud of himself!

"Don't say such embarrassing things."

Neuro smiled, and was about to tease her again until his phone vibrated in his pocket. He ignored its incessant silent rings.

Yako happily ate her five bowls of sundae, smiling widely as she did so. She had asked him about Kanae seeing them on the roof, and the damn prick had said an affirmative as though it was the most normal thing to say. She couldn't get mad at him, though. What has been seen, can never be unseen—Kanae would have to deal with it, Yako supposed. Seeing a plate of wafers in front of the grinning male, she poked his arm, "Neuro, are you going to eat that?" He hummed, and shoved the chocolate wafers in her face.

The phone continued to vibrate in his pocket. Yako wolfed down the wafers. He smiled.

_That call better be from Zera._

* * *

><p>Shinobu huffed as he stomped on his cigarette on library's fire exit. Shrugging his shoulders and crushing a mint in his mouth, he made his way to class—which he attended once in a blue moon—he scratched on his head, fingers careful not to touch the burn on his scalp. It still hurt even after five days. <em>Damn green-eyed freak.<em>

He slowly opened the door, eyes scanning the room. It didn't seem like anyone noticed him. Good. It was break time, anyway. Now if only he could just—

"Ah! Godai-_san_! You finally joined the class!"

Crap.

He turned his head, and was not surprised to see the "strange little lady" excitedly waving at him from her chair at the front, with a half-eaten curry bread in her mouth. _It's always food with'er, isn't it._

He also noticed that her shoulders were heaving a pair of sock-clad feet.

He scowled and groaned and sat on his chair at the back, his feet now angrily placed on the desk.

"Mind yer own business, missy."

He glared at her—she smiled at him, nonetheless (she didn't seem to take it as a threat at all)—and black eyes slid to her left. A familiar mop of blond and black moved. Shinobu gulped.

That mop of blond and black hair turned, and he was met with a wide grin and a pair of almost gleaming eyes.

"Oh, hello, Burnt Flesh."

Shinobu twitched, "Tch. Hello, Monster."

Yako was sure she could feel invisible sparks flying between their stares. One amused and one annoyed.

"...What's with the sudden change of mood?" she asked as she chomped on her third curry bread. Neuro's socked feet rested on her shoulders, Yako didn't seem to mind, and the behavior made Shinobu cock his head. Scratching his chin, he quipped, "Why are ya like that?"

In unison, Neuro and Yako blinked, "We don't understand what you mean."

Shinobu sighed.

"Say, Godai-_san_," Yako began as she swallowed her last bite, "This is the first time I've actually seen you enter class willingly."

He looked away, a lopsided smirk planted on his face as he chortled, "'Ch. I need attendance, too, ya know. I jus' dun' wantta see Tubulik's face. His face irritates me."

At this, Neuro laughed, green eyes concealed behind crowed eyelids as his sock-covered toes curled on Yako's scalp, "Hah! We have a common enemy, then!"

"Geh? Y'mean the bearded lady failed ya, too?"

Neuro stopped laughing and hummed, his face suddenly thoughtful as he leaned on his chair. His toes curled from within the confines of his white socks. Yako shifted her shoulders a bit, the twiddling sock-covered toes not bothering her the slightest. In fact, it was a relief from the usual weight on her poor bones. He must have learned his lesson from the last time, Yako mused.

"You mean you're a repeater? And no. He didn't fail me. He doesn't have a reason to do so. If he did, I would suggest that everyone should evacuate the school immediately, unless they, too, would like to feel my wrath."

Shinobu paled, opting not to answer his question instead. He didn't want to know what exactly this person—_Freak!_—was thinking.

"Just make sure you don't blow up the cafeteria," Yako happily piped as she wrote her notes for next period. She hummed as she turned a page of her binder.

Shinobu almost slapped his forehead for that comment.

"What's up with you two?"

"Nothing!" they chirped in unison, both smiling as they did so. And in that moment, he was sure that the two of them combined will result in the torture that will be his high school life.

* * *

><p>A slice of cake was put in Yako's mouth, "Mutsuki-<em>tan <em>seems happy today!" The aforementioned girl giggled as she drank her chamomile tea, smiling at the girl, "It's because my grandfather will be released from the hospital today! I'm going to spend the whole day with him after school!" Yako hummed, fork poised in the corners of her lips, "You really love your grandfather, huh? It must be nice to spend time with him. It seems like you're having fun with him! I need to spend with my family more. Haha!"

Mutsuki smiled as he put down her cup, "I do have fun with him! He always plays games with me and he always has little girls surrounding him! He touches them all the time, too!"

Kanae and Yako, who were both listening to her story, gaped. Neuro simply ate his food—sushi and tempura drenched in wasabi—without a care for what the girl had just uttered.

Kanae remained silent as Mutsuki told her story—of little girls and her grandfather's strange way on interacting with them. Yako ate her last piece of cheesecake, mustering the courage to ask the unspoken question, "What does your grandfather do to the little girls exactly, if I may ask?"

"Um, he collects their bloomers and puts them in his drawer in his office."

Yako and Kanae twitched. _A pedophile! How does he even do that?_

As Yako was about to ask another question, the rooftop door creaked, and in came Yukinori, with Shinobu trailing behind him, that familiar scowl etched on his face.

Stopping his tracks in front of Kanae who was sitting on the cloth-covered concrete, he huffed.

"We need to talk."

Kanae simply turned her head away, nose stuck in the air.

Yako looked at Yukinori and Shinobu, and she mustered a small smile. Shinobu simply nodded. Yukinori simply raised his eyebrows and tipped his head. Neuro, who had just finished eating his meal, had now leaned his back on Yako's, bright green eyes closed and lips curled in a barely there smile as he rested his hands on his torso. He ignored the two other males and opted to make himself comfortable on her back, instead.

"We have nothing to talk about. Go away. You're interrupting my lunch," Kanae finally said when she realized that Yukinori was not going anywhere without an answer. Stubborn man.

"We need to _talk_."

"We are _through_."

Yako wanted to back away from the stare-off between her best friend and her boyfriend—_"number two", as Neuro had dubbed_—but she couldn't, not with that painful weight on her back.

Yako gulped. Mutsuki simply looked at the intruder. Neuro slept on Yako's back. Shinobu glowered at all of them.

* * *

><p>There were many things happening lately. Yuuya suddenly appearing and working in school—which Neuro loathed. Kanae having an argument with Yukinori—which Yako was curious about.<p>

Jennifer Ewing and Jody Tubulik having a scandalous rendezvous in an empty classroom—Neuro wasn't surprised about that.

The day started strangely for both of them, but then again, it didn't have to end up strangely, too!

Yako had fetched her homework from one of the teachers in the faculty room, with Neuro following closely behind her as he had always been. They had passed by one of the dark rooms, its door slightly ajar. Nothing seemed out of place at first, and the two of them ignored it as they passed—

—but the sound of something clanging from the inside made Neuro think twice about ignoring it.

Letting his paranoia (and morbid curiosity) get the best of him—_if it's that perverted piece of crap again, I swear I'll strangle him_—he peeked inside, Yako being pressed closely to him, her back facing the suspicious room and her face flushed against his chest, as he did so. She didn't complain.

It was not Yuuya, much to Neuro's relief. But it was not what he had been expecting to see, either.

In between the small gap of light shining through the shadowy room, his wide eyes saw the Scottish student and the Turkish teacher, madly making out in the blanket of darkness.

_What the hell is this. _

Neuro looked and stepped away from the scene, his steps as silent as the wind as he slightly lifted Yako off of her feet—_you have too noisy footsteps, piglet_. She didn't utter a word of complaint. She trusted him enough on the things that she should see and what she should not see.

So with her hands wrapped around his torso, and his arm curled beneath her skirt-covered thighs, he lifted her away from the scene that his little kitten should definitely not see. It was not worth to look at, anyway. _Stupid hag looks like a clown with that smudged lip paint._

Once they were a decent distance away from the unspeakable scene, and once Neuro had placed her on the ground—carefully, for once—she immediately asked questions that Neuro should not even bother to answer.

"What happened in there? Was someone hurt?" she asked with those wide, doe-like eyes of hers, and Neuro couldn't help but to pinch her cheek with a grin. It was fun seeing her like this.

"No one's hurt, I assure you," he said with a smile. "But it was something to pass the eyes on. Nothing to see there."

Yako pouted as they walked back home. At the end of the day, she felt a little elated, though she didn't know the reason why. She supposed it was because of the man currently holding her hand.

"Is that really so, I wonder," mumbled Yako as they walked. He said nothing else, opting to smile instead as they neared the Katsuragi home. She idly wondered out of the blue on what they might have looked like in other people's eyes as they passed by. _Do we look like a couple to them?_

Haruka greeted them as soon as they entered. And Neuro, over time, had habitually muttered to the members of the household, "I'm home." He had been saying it for years, and truthfully, saying the phrase somehow didn't feel awkward. A member of the family, as Seiichi once said, and yet the meaning had lost its thought in his confused mind. He always failed to ask Yako what it felt like to have a family. Does it give you knowledge? Strength? Power? Why do some people sacrifice their lives for this thing they called a family? Is it really that important? Those were the questions that often plague Neuro's mind every time he eats over at Yako's house. Dealing with emotions and human behavior had always been Yako's field, not his. And yet, sometimes he would dare to think that something was missing in his intellectual mind.

They ate and they slept. The routine was something that Neuro welcomed. Over the years, he realized that he treated Yako's home as his home—even moreso than his own. He wondered why.

Yako thought about what Neuro was thinking of these past few days. Something was bothering him, she could tell. And she blamed the phone that kept vibrating in his pocket. He had thought that she couldn't notice anything strange about him. But she knew. And at the back of her mind, she wanted to pry and ask him what was going on. She worried for him, just as he worried for her—_after all these years_.

Yako wasn't the type who spies on other people's things, she deemed it as rude (and it was). But for once, she felt a dying urge to pry into his stuff. Rolling over to his side and looking at him through the blessing of the moonlight bathing her room, she smoothed her fingertips onto his baby soft hair, she smiled.

_I am—_

Neuro hummed in his sleep, that familiar ghost of a smile painting his marbled face. A grin broke through her lips. He could be adorable at times—and without exerting effort, too!

Forest green eyes slowly shone behind a curtain of hooded eyelids and black eyelashes. And a rare smile bloomed on his calm face.

_—falling—_

"Something wrong, ragdoll?" he asked, voice gruff and hoarse from sleep. He let that tiny hand caress his hair. It was night—midnight, to be exact (and Yako couldn't sleep). And he was calm. Neuro could clearly see the smile that she tried to hide. It was useless, in his opinion. He could always look through her façade—even if it's dark. He croaked a laugh. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong," she replied with a tinkling laugh of her own. And he closed his emerald eyes, smile still in place. Those fingers were warm on his scalp; and the warmth emanating from her petite body was soothing his currently agitated soul.

"It would be nice," he suddenly uttered with a barely audible sigh, eyes still closed as he spoke. "If we could have a family of our own. Just to experience how it feels like," he said, his tone a cross between that of being playful and curious. Yako's breath almost stopped. There was something in Neuro's tone that she couldn't quite place, and it made her curious. She always thought that he would always set his sights on what was important—and he would get it, no matter what the consequences are. Still, hearing him talking about having a family—it was something that Yako had never once pondered about.

She bit her lip, "Why do you say that?" It was barely a whisper, but he heard it all too well. This was very much unexpected of him. Never in a million years had she thought of the sadistic and pride-filled Nougami Neuro would ask her—of all people—to suggest something as marriage to her.

She told him her doubts, of words stating that they were still too young to discuss something as serious as marriage. He shrugged. It was only a thought, he said. Yako hummed. And yet, she stored that thought of his in the recesses of her mind.

"Yako. You will be my wife."

—_for this person._

Simple words. And yet, he said it with much emphasis. Too serious. It made Yako feel doubt. And at the same time, she felt flattered.

_To experience how it feels like, he says. I wonder why he said that._

Even if her mind swam in numerous questions that she wanted to ask him about, she didn't. There was an appropriate time for everything, as he once said to her. Now was not the time, she observed. Besides, there was still that disturbing round of incoming calls that Neuro never answered.

His phone was vibrating on her dresser, its white light blaring warnings to her eyes. She ignored it. She wouldn't want to pry. He respected her—that much she can tell. _ I should do the same to him._

* * *

><p>Yako had been thinking lately. It involved a certain someone with green eyes and a broad, evil smile. That certain someone was currently on the blackboard solving a—<em>ridiculously insane<em>—difficult equation. Fumio's class had always been fun, but it always comes with a price.

Neuro solved the problem with ease. A new record for him. Thirty seconds.

_Fricking parabolas._

She chewed on her pencil as she looked at her notes. I will never be as good as him, she thought. Caramel eyes scanning the neatly written numbers and lines on the board—_even his handwriting is damn perfect!_—she groaned. Too difficult.

A smiling Neuro made his way to back, ignoring the awed stares he received—_Neuro-sama is really great!_—and as he sat, Yako felt a familiar hand gliding over her head.

She hid her face in her fingers.

* * *

><p>It was rare for them to eat at the school grounds. Neuro, for one, kept on shaking his head every now and then because of the leaves and occasional sakura petals that stubbornly find their way on his hair. Yako laughed at him as she ate. In retaliation, he shoved her food―inari zushi―down her throat.<p>

_It was for a change of scene! _Yako had said earlier, and the two other girls happily agreed with her. The sole male in the group, on the other hand―

"...Stupid petals. They keep on falling on my food."

Smiling at the annoyed face that Neuro had, she picked a stray fallen flower that ended up on the edge of his bento box with her chopsticks, and―brazenly―put it on his hair.

His face morphed in surprise.

Kanae stifled a laugh and clamped her lips shut. Mutsuki simply covered her mouth.

Yako giggled, "There. Now it's better!"

Neuro pinched her nose with his chopsticks in response. Painfully.

"Want me to dip your snot-filled nose in this chili sauce?"

"Nonono! HavemercyletgoofmeNeurooo!"

"Ahahaha! Such a funny little piggy! Wouldn't you agree?" Neuro cheerfully asked as he turned towards a laughing Mutsuki and a (horribly) poker-faced Kanae.

The flower that had been on his hair was plucked by spidery fingers, and was put―_slammed_―in her right ear.

He still hadn't let go of her poor nose.

"That tickles, you ass!"

* * *

><p>"I didn't know you had to buy all of them."<p>

Leaning on the headboard and turning a page of his newly-bought books, courtesy of an unwilling Yako, he smiled, "Heh. I can read them just fine even if it's in English. The books really are nicer than the movie adaptations. Though I think they wouldn't compare to our own version of a dystopia. Ours is more brutal. The descriptions in the book, I mean."

Yako hummed and removed her hair clips and bracelet and placed them near Neuro's phone on her dresser. She knew what he was talking about, and she had read her fair share of that―too brutal for her taste―novel, "I still think that the Western one gains more points to me because of the food. The only thing I saw in our own dystopian novel is that, well―the exploding brains and the watermelon-colored blood. And don't get me started on the manga version. And the ending of the second movie sucks."

"Oh? I didn't know you read books! I thought you were too stupid to even read a syllable!"

Yako sighed and brushed her short hair. His insults sometimes managed to pierce her heart, no matter how much she blocked his words. She just won't admit it, though, "Whatever, Neuro. You made me spend thirty-thousand yen on those three books alone. You could have at least bought me some food in return!"

"Bah! You have more than enough fat in that hippo body of yours. Burn that cellulite first."

Yako's face flared as she snapped her head at his direction. "C-cellulite! Why, listen here, you―"

Even if she knew very much that what he said was only meant as a joke―  
><em><br>__I'm still a young lady that has pride and I have insecurities about my body, too!_

Finally turning his eyes momentarily away from his book, he faced her with a blank smile, oblivious to her rage, "You said something, fish-breath?"

Clenching her fists and trying hard not to hit him in the face with her hairbrush, she stomped her tiny feet and puffed her cheeks, standing near the bed as she did so. _Today will be the day that he'll hear a piece of my mind! _"Neuro!"

And suddenly, his body stiffened, and clamped his palm on her lips. A slim forefinger hovered on his own. A serious face. Frowning lips. Tightly-drawn eyebrows. Yako knew that gesture all too well. Her eyes slid to her right, trying to turn her head―

Neuro slid off the bed and left his book on the mattress, his hand still covering her mouth. Green eyes narrowed. His sharp sense of hearing never failed him even once, and he was quite sure that someone―an unfamiliar sound of footfalls, not from one of the Katsuragi residents, he assumed―was leaning their head on that door.

He inched closer to the door, his hand still on her mouth, and silently gripped the doorknob―he let go of Yako.

Neuro smirked.

And opened the door.

"Hello."

The person leaning their head and ears and palms on the door almost slipped to their feet.

Yako blinked, "Eh? Kanae-_chan_? Why are you here?"

The―eavesdropping―girl awkwardly laughed as she carefully regained her balance (and her shattered dignity). Standing on her feet proved to be quite painful since this morning. And she hid her discomfort well from her friends. Running away from that person―Yukinori the Inferno―the whole day had been tiring, and without a second thought, she had ran straight to Yako's house. The Katsuragi couple welcomed her, of course. And she had led her way to her best friend's room as soon as they had let her in.

She never expected to see Neuro standing beside Yako—in her room, no less!—as soon the door opened, though.

She remembered to close her mouth as she tried not to stare at those tempting collarbones and those bare, lean arms.  
><em><br>__Nougami-san is wearing an undershirt―an undershirt! Inside Yako's room!_

"Kanae-_chan_?"

At the sound of Yako's voice, Kanae hurriedly fumbled with her fingers and laughed, willing her mind to steer clear away from that all-too-attractive (and almost bare) man standing beside Yako, "Ah, yeah. Sorry for intruding. I just―um―wanted to talk about things, you see. Haha!"

Yako blinked. This was the first time she ever came to her room—and unannounced, too. And Kanae had nevered intruded on someone's house unannounced.

"You could have called," Yako suggested with a laugh as she moved away from the door to let her in. Caramel eyes glanced at black-green ones. Neuro shrugged at Yako as he returned to his book lying on the bed, a small frown present on his face as he walked away. Probably annoyed that we got intruded upon, Yako thought with a smile. Kanae, who was standing in the middle of Yako's room, pursed her lips and her eyebrows raised as she saw Neuro jumping into the bed and resumed reading. _He looks like as if he's quite at home in this house._

She turned towards Yako who was now making her way to her. "Have a seat!" and she offered the chair near the dresser, all annoyance now gone from her earlier banter with Neuro. She could never get mad at him for a long period of time, anyway.

Yako sat on the edge of the bed, smiling at Kanae in her typical Yako fashion―

―speaking of which―

"Hey, isn't that Nougami-_san_'s costume at the―"

"Hm? Oh. Yes, yes it is. He was planning to throw it because of the frills, but I liked it, it's soft and thin. So I um―"

"―stole it."

"I didn't steal it, Neuro! You gave it to me when you almost burned it here in my room!"

Kanae paled as she watched them bicker once again―she couldn't even begin to fathom on how Yako seemed to be very much at ease on wearing another man's clothes without an ounce of shyness. And their bouts of provocation seemed to be a part of their daily routine. _Like a married couple._

_―wait―_

"...You―you wear his clothes? And―um. Why is Nougami-_san _here?"

Without batting an eyelash, she tilted her head, "But Neuro's always here. Except for the times when he rarely gets home."

Kanae blinked.  
><em><br>__Get away from the inappropriate thoughts, self!_

"Um, why is he―" she paused and pointed a crooked index finger towards Neuro's direction, the words suddenly leaving her lips. Yako hummed and jutted her lip. "I'm not following," she said.

"Un-under―"

At this, Neuro stopped reading and looked at Kanae, an eyebrow raised at her. Yako blinked, not sure what her friend wanted to say.

Yako and Neuro looked at each other, the former blinking and the latter sighing. Yako's stupidity is contagious, he mused. _I already told her we sleep on the same room on the same bed. What more does she want to know?_

After trying hard to utter a single coherent sentence that involved Neuro in his undershirt, Yako decided to ignore what she really meant to say.

"Kanae-_chan_, I think you need a break."

The aforementioned girl still tried to say something. Her eyes looked at the petite frame being engulfed in the too-large and slightly thin shirt she donned. The hems reached her knees. Her shoulders were showing. The top two buttons of―_his_―shirt on her torso were undone. She couldn't see Yako's hands beneath those wide cuffs as she moved.  
><em><br>__―And she's okay with this!_

Kanae simply nodded. She wasn't sure on how to comment on Yako's clothes―_Nougami-san's clothes_―at the moment.

Yako clapped her hands once, her face breaking into a happy grin, "I know! How about we eat some snacks first before we talk? There's nothing better than talking over things while eating good food!" She then looked for her schoolbag―which was constantly filled with said snacks―and, seeing it wasn't where she thought it would be (at the bottom of the bed), she turned to the now calmly smiling man.

"Neuro? Where did you throw my bag this time?"

He hummed, a thin eyebrow slightly raised as he read his book, "Beneath the bed." The scoff he heard from Yako amused him.

Kanae leaned back from the sudden close distance of Yako's short hair whipping as she contorted her body to the edge of the bed, leaning on all fours as she groaned. Yako stretched her hand, "It's on your side! Help me get it!"

"Hmph. I'm too lazy. Do it yourself."

She quickly sat back on the bed with an annoyed huff and glared at him, "Ugh. Then move."

"Why don't you move, then?"

"The bed is too comfortable!"

"Then I won't move, either."

Mustering a sigh of defeat, she got on all fours and crawled over to his side, unmindful of the pair of wide brown eyes watching their every move.

Yako's hands and torso came in close contact with his lean legs as she, again, tried to get her schoolbag beneath the bed. Neuro didn't seem to mind the sudden proximity, Kanae observed―though she didn't fail to see those evergreen eyes looking over his book and glancing a couple of seconds too long on Yako's writhing bottom. She also noticed that he now sported a smile that he only wore whenever her best friend was near. A wide, almost predatory grin. Yako―oblivious to the stares she received from both Neuro and Kanae (each staring at her for different reasons)―whooped in victory as she swiped her bag off of the carpeted floor and flung it on the mattress. Trying to regain her balance as she kneeled on the springy bed, her hand accidentally palmed a part of Neuro's body that she should _nevereventouch_.

He merely turned a page of his book, though―as if he never felt that contact at all. As if he had never felt that a tiny hand had just slammed onto his private parts. His face remained passive. Yako heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly removed her hands from any part of his body. Then she realized―_Maybe I'll be bad at those intimate kinds of things if he couldn't even feel anything._

Willing her thoughts away from wayward directions, she turned to a slightly pink-faced Kanae and beamed, "Here's the snacks!"

Looking at her now, Kanae noticed that Yako also noticed what her hand had done. She coughed. _They don't seem to be too body-conscious of each other._

"Uh, thanks," she mumbled with a smile as she caught a triangle sandwich wrapped in tissue. She ignored the fact that her schoolbag was brimming with sandwiches and meat buns and hamburgers and cheeseburgers. How Yako managed to stuff all of that in there without being squished remained a mystery to her. Biting into it, she hummed and beamed at the taste filling her tongue. Trust Yako when it comes to anything that involved delicious food.

Yako bit onto her snack as well, a pork meat bun drenched in sauce, and squealed, "This is scrumptious! I should buy more of these tomorrow!" She opened her mouth for another bite, and yelled when another mouth had swooped in and bitten on her food.

"Neuro! Get your own pork meat buns!"

Chewing on the said pork meat bun and eyeing her with amusement, he simply flicked a middle finger to her forehead. She whined. He grinned. Kanae stared at them.

She wondered how they got along so well despite their large differences.

* * *

><p>"...Maggot. You've been dizzying yourself for the past hour. Go to sleep already."<p>

"But what Kanae-_chan_ said earlier kind of bugs me. Higuchi-_san _doesn't know anything about her two-timing on him. And now she's feeling guilty for giving Higuchi-_san_ false hopes when it's quite clear to me that she wanted Yukinori-_san_. Did you see how much emotion she put into saying Yukinori-_san_'s name? It's like she was saying a holy name!"

"And that vile, slimy, four-eyed, lower than a lowlife and voyeuristic boy toy of hers never told her about the rape he tried to do to you. It's a fair game for them. Don't trouble yourself over the problems of others. They have their own lives."

"...Neuro. That wasn't even a rape. He never touched me. And she's my friend, she should get a shoulder to lean on sometimes."

"Feh. And this is coming from the piglet who had been insulted by the thoughtless action of her so-called friend in front of people she barely knew on the beach last summer. And don't argue with me. It is rape to me. You told me you felt his hair. That's close enough to be considered as rape to me."

Yako frowned. He might never show it, but she knew he was worried for her―as he had always been. She had always been aware of those pair of eyes that always followed her every move. She deduced that it was his unspoken way of telling her that he cared for her―even if he hurt her through his painful ways of speaking to her. _What an oxymoron._

She smiled. He blinked as she closed the distance between them, her thin arm draped loosely on his rising and falling torso, the top of her head nuzzled beneath his chin. He smiled―she could feel it through her hair―and that was enough to tell her that their argument was over. If only they could be this way all the time―

"Falling asleep?"

She buried her head on his thin shirt, "Maybe."

And she felt it again, that familiar pair of lips that smiled and kissed her scalp. A spidery hand soothed the back of her head, the touch very much welcomed on her flesh. She beamed in glee. Every time the night comes into view, he would always transform into a sweet and _almost _romantic man; and when morning comes, he would revert to his normal, abnormal and sadistic self. She often wondered why, and in the end, she would assume it was because of the calmness that the night brings. She deemed it as an acceptable reason.

A light kiss on her forehead suggested that he was in a good mood―like a purring, contented cat. She giggled at the thought. Neuro could be adorable when he wanted to be―_why can't he be like this all the time?_

A fervent kiss to her lips. Oh. Their hands twitched. Take it a step further, the demons screamed in their heads. She gasped in his mouth, and Neuro could feel her getting restless in his hold. He himself quelled his thoughts. Not now. Too early. He hummed in her mouth, and he felt her smile. Yes, this would be the one thing that he will never regre―

She broke the kiss just as she heard a familiar sound.

"Ignore it," Neuro growled as he attacked her neck instead, arms coiling around her waist. Yako sighed at the contact―_he's warm_―and closed her eyes. A distraction. He needed one. Winding her hands on his hair, she decided to let him do whatever he wanted for the night.

He was shaking in her hold.

The phone continued to vibrate on her dresser. She swallowed a groan and a grimace. Mood killer.  
><em><br>__Whoever it is on that phone better be having a nightmare tonight._

Limbs touched and kissed, the soft and soothing shuffle of cloth tickling their ears and flesh. Neuro glanced at the clock. One in the morning. School starts at eight. Glancing at Yako who was too busy devouring his mouth with her eyes closed, he figured it will be a tiresome night for her―and an eventful one for him.

He grinned as he turned her over on her back. Yako merely arched her back at the movement.

A stray bead of sweat appeared on her neck, and his tongue greedily lapped on it. She moaned as he bit her earlobe.

Oh, screw it.  
><em><br>__Until three in the morning will do._

Hovering on her on all fours, he grinned at her seemingly exhausted form. Oh, how _tempting_! "Shall I reap my reward for the promise you made, little slave?"

Yako only exposed her neck further, face now flushed and eyes still closed in the moonlight as she sighed. Her arms then fell limp on each side of her head, her dusty brown hair splayed on the soft pillows. Her small bosom heaved through the confines of (his) her clothes that were now slightly rumpled, its first two buttons remained undone as his eyes gleefully roamed on the two, small and cloth-covered mounds of flesh that Yako had. _Good thing I gave it to her, then. Suits her better. Plus, the fabric is thin enough. I wonder if I can make that shirt wet. Heh. The things I would see!_

He licked away the drool that was about to drip down his chin.

It was as though she were inviting him to just engulf her whole! Oh, the succulent temptation of Eve! _You will bring me my fall someday, you know that, Yako?_

He chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes, then."

And he dived for her lips.

The echoes of their moans felt like the beatings of a drum to Yako's ears―the hushed sounds of cloth and the gasps of their breath seemed loud enough to wake up the whole household. The thrill of the two of them being discovered in the middle of the night by her own parents―the thought alone sent shivers down her spine in excitement. Adrenaline. The trickles of liquid heat dripping to her crotch went noticed by Neuro who had one knee pressing close to the warm flesh there.

"Getting wet, are we? I can feel it through that flimsy underwear of yours."

A moan and a harsh tug on his hair was her only response. The act made Neuro moan as he breathed near her ear, "You're getting feisty, kitten."

Yako, in return, bit and sucked on his neck. Cautiousness and shame had long been thrown out of the window the moment he had first kissed her, them being replaced by impishness and boldness for this irresistible young man. He had made a malicious demoness out of Katsuragi Yako―a being that only Nougami Neuro alone could draw out. And for some reason, it made her feel powerful.  
><em><br>__He's going to be the death of me someday._

The phone on her dresser stopped vibrating and glowing in the dead of the night―yet neither paid no attention to its silent plea―

―their choked gasps resonated through the cold walls.

* * *

><p>"Let's see... He's been with her for nine years―well, ten years, to be exact, if I count the months, since they have the same birthday and all (how coincidental is that?)―and he's been, um, <em>literally <em>sleeping with her for the past, um, five or six years. They haven't slept like the figurative way I thought they would be doing―though they seem to be too steamy when it comes to the French-kissing thing―and yet they're clearly not body-conscious of each other. I mean, he's practically all over her everyday and he gets to hold her hand everyday and she seems fine about him seeing her underwear and she wears his clothes as her sleepwear and he also gets to stay over her house for as long as he like and he probably takes a bath in her house and her parents don't seem to mind at all that their only child sleeps every night with that smoking hot piece of man-meat and―why am I saying this again? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that―my friend gets more action than me! Ugh."

Kanae tossed and turned on her rather spacious bed. She thought of how Yako had been completely at ease upon having him over. 'Neuro has always been with me, you see,' she had said earlier with a broad smile. Kanae hugged her pillow.

"...I want someone like that, too..."

Sighing, she rolled over, yet again, and realized it was nearing two o'clock. She whined.  
><em><br>__I guess I should be happy for her. And I am!_

She twiddled her nail on her teddy bear's nose―given to her from one of her past boyfriends―"I want Hi-_kun_ to be like that. But he's not like that, and... Ha-_kun_ is... Well, um―what do you think, Kuma-_chan_?" And Kanae blinked as she stared at the beady eyes of her stuffed toy. It was her habit whenever she would be upset—talking to inanimated objects. She preferred talking to animals, too. But since their family never had one, her plush toys would have to do. She rather liked doing all the talking. There were also times where she would just want to be heard, not criticized on what she said all the time. Yes, inanimated objects seem to be the perfect choice―as long as no one sees you doing it, then it's fine, was what Kanae thought.

"...Ha-_kun_ or Hi-_kun_. Who do you think is right for me?"

The teddy bear looked at her still, its black and beaded eyes boring into her brown ones. Kanae sighed. Her bear would never talk, anyway.  
><em><br>__I guess I have to talk to Yako again._

* * *

><p>Yako had awoken to a very amused-looking Neuro this morning—and that had never been good. She had started the day with a pair of hands pinching her unprepared cheeks to the limit, and his morning greeting to her—a painful dose of scalp-grinding.<p>

That was Yako's interpretation of his normal way of saying, "Good morning, Pig!"

She sighed as her fingertips idly touched the places that tingled on her nape. _He left too many marks again... I think I'll have to buy another pack of concealer for this._

"_Worried about your marks?"_

She sharply turned around and yelped as her poor ear was attacked by a soft nibble from Neuro's pointed teeth, "Neuro, not no—ow!" She whined as a tongue laved on her lobe. He's been doing that lately, she thought.

He stopped and leaned back on his chair, his socked feet now propped on her shoulders like they were meant to be there. She groaned at the weight on her shoulders, "No, I am _not_ worried about those—those _marks_. I just scratched my nape, that's all." His right foot lightly nudged her cheek, grinning at the way Yako had puffed her cheeks as he did so. She looked almost—_adorable._ But he wouldn't really say that to her. Who knows what words she would spout?

"Foolish kitten. You know you're dying to drench that neck of yours in salve."

She scoffed, her eyes trained on her bracelet, "And who is to blame for that? You made me stay up until three in the morning." She groaned as his (perfectly odorless) feet started to rub circles on the back of her head, and oddly enough, it felt good. _A weird way of doing a massage, I guess. Maybe this is his way of apologizing?_

Savoring the rare moments of Neuro doing her a strange form of comfort, her gaze drifted to her right where Kanae sat. A spaced-out and sleepless-looking girl greeted her. Yako blinked.

"Kanae-_chan_? What's wrong?"

Slowly craning her neck from the coldness of her desk, Kanae looked at Yako with a tired smile, "Oh, hi, Yako. Good morning. You too, Nougami-_san_."

Yako's eye twitched at the sight of her friend. Blotty lip gloss. Uncurled eyelashes. Unconditioned hair. Gray eyebags. Sans powder on face. _Unpolished and_ _unmanicured nails._

"...Are you all right?" she asked, her head still not moving an inch. Those toes on her scalp were doing great things to her and she would not let this rare Neuro-kindness pass her by.

A deadpanned, "never better" reached her ears.

Yako sighed, "Kanae-_chan_, that sarcasm of yours won't work on m—oh! Godai-_san_! Good morning!"

Shinobu grumbled a gruff "meh" before making his way to his seat at the back. "Is it Noma's class yet?" Yako tried to shake her head, but the feet stuck on her cheeks prevented her from doing so.

"It will be her class in ten minutes. Why―"

"No reason."

Silence stretched on as she waited for elaboration from the scowling—_did he just blush?—_man toying with his pencil. None came. Yako hummed and turned to Kanae, who groaned and buried her face in her desk once again. She frowned and looked at the blackboard.

She realized her shoulders suddenly felt light. Yako turned around to see Neuro standing up and putting his shoes back on his feet. She blinked, "Where are you going?"

"I saw an ugly cockroach down the hall that needs to be squished," and with that, he left. Yako looked at the wall clock, it was unusual for him to leave the room when class was about to start. She glanced at Neuro's retreating back.

_Strange..._

* * *

><p>Frankly, Neuro never had the need to urinate in public stalls—the sight revolted him every time he passed by a public stall. Their unseen dirtiness on the cubicles was enough to repel him from such places. It was the first time he ventured in such a place, and it was in school, too. <em>Filthy mongrel.<em>

The door—which was probably teeming with bacteria on the edges—was silent as he opened it, and there, on the far side of the row of urinals, was the "cockroach" he had been looking for.

"Hello, H-_tan_."

The bespectacled man whipped his head around, and his black eyes widened at the sight of Neuro, "Nougami―"

"You don't have the right to utter my name with that lecherous mouth, you filth."

Yuuya winced at the insult and faced him. It was a good thing he had already finished when he entered.

Narrowed dark green eyes looked down on his sweaty form. Whatever he had been doing before he entered the restroom, Neuro could care less—although he had a pretty good idea what he had been doing.

It was at times like these that Neuro was proud to have been born tall, he could stare down on anyone and he would feel powerful. Grinning at the flustered male, Neuro loomed on his face, his eyes wide and his teeth bared.

Oh, how he loved the petrified look on Yuuya's face!

"You're here again?"

"L-look, Nou―um. I didn't get a job here just to get into a fight."

"_You _scum started it."

He gulped as his black eyes looked away from the now terrifying man. Yuuya had always seen him smiling broadly and talking kindly―_at her_―and he had never thought that he could be _this _scary when mad.

He remembered the crazed look on his face from last time―with his head almost smashed on the rocks below the heated waters _no don't think about that_ _now_―and he was sure that this gigantic man was killing him in his mind right now.

"I didn't know you were here, okay―"

"Lie through that teeth of yours and you'll be losing that hideous face."

He backed away. Neuro leaned closer, both hands now placed on his hips, his eyes wider than ever. His hands were itching to just shove that paler-than-death face of his in the toilet bowl and put cement on his head, just to keep him in place.

Yuuya had been silent for some time now, and he was sure that he was about to take a―

"It was you, wasn't it. The one who spied on us on graduation day. No form of disguise could mask that foul stench of yours."

Yuuya's lower lip trembled as he finally spoke, "I just came there to look for a―"

"You still won't confess? Hah! Shall I make you reacquainted with the rocks again? I knew I should have had let you drown in the hot springs that day. It would do me a lot good, not to mention I would have my little maggot to myself. But seeing as you've been giving her the eye, _you_ have given me a perfect reason to decapitate that sorry little head of yours. Let me make myself clear to your crust-filled brain―Yako is _my property_. I _own _her."

He paled.

"I didn't―I just―" _Why is he so damn scary!_

Neuro growled, and his hand dived in on Yuuya's neck, squeezing it a bit tighter than necessary, "I would have none of your petty lies, you voyeur."

Just as he was about to make his fantasy a reality―_a head floating on a toilet bowl would do_―there was a faint knock on the door. Neuro immediately glared on it. No one was to interrupt them―but that knock―

He easily swung Yuuya to the wall with his hand. Ignoring the distinct crack―no doubt from his back―and the pained cry behind him, he opened the door and got out.

"What now, louse."

"Class is about to start, and I figured you wouldn't want to miss a minute of it. You know how Noma-_sensei _is. What were you doing in there?"

"What do you suppose these restrooms are for, you imbecile?"

Yako laughed as they walked back, "But you never go to any public restroom. It irritates you."

"Hm? How did you know that?"

"Every time we eat at restaurants, you complain about the 'stupidly foolish human men who bathe their reproductive organs in filth'. And I figured that maybe you don't like going to those kinds of places."

"Hmph. So what made you think I was in there, then?"

"By instinct."

"Tch. Foolish crap," he huffed and he looked back at the closed restroom door as they walked back, smiling when Yuuya's pale face carefully peeked into view. Good thing Yako was facing the other way.

Neuro then felt a tiny hand slowly enclosing around his, and without hesitation, he swatted his hand away.

"Eh? Neuro?"

"Do you have a hand sanitizer? I just touched something that smells like rotten meat."

Yako laughed, "Silly Neuro. It can't be _that_ bad."

He shoved his fingers down her throat as he cackled.

Afterwards, she finally managed to remove those painful fingers down her painful throat. "Hold out your hands," she instrucsted, and when he did, she poured a dollop of the cool liquid on his large palms.

Too bad she didn't see it when he rubbed his palms on her face.

"Too cold!"

* * *

><p>Um, this chapter's kind of short. D:<p> 


	10. Possessio

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart. _

**A/N:** I'm listening to Bosanova Casanova while writing this. I must say, the lyrics suit the Sadistic!Neuro really well—plus Takehito Koyasu is one of the singers in that song, which is a plus because he voiced Neuro! XD

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Possessio <strong>

* * *

><p>Shinobu had been trying to process the sentence in front of the blackboard, a chalk in his hand as his eyes twitched.<p>

"Well, Godai-_san_? Can you translate the sentence for the class?" came the voice of their English teacher—Noma Kaoruko—from behind him. A teacher that had always been considered as a Spartan with her rigorous way of teaching, she had always dealt with students with histories of being a juvenile deliquent—

—Godai Shinobu, for one, hadn't been spared from Kaoruko's discipline.

Shinobu gulped. He had never wanted this―_it's that damn freak's fault for throwing a paper ball at me!_―

"_Sensei―_! The foolishly idiotic and absentee Godai-_san _can't even translate a simple sentence! May I answer it in his stupid place instead?"

The English teacher turned around, her arms daintily crossed, and she nodded at the happily smiling Neuro, "Very well. Since you're the top-notch student in the freshman year, you might as well help him, Nougami-_san_."

"Eh heh!"

As Neuro went over to the blackboard, Yako giggled at Shinobu's gaping face.

* * *

><p>"Nougami! How about it? Are you finally cracking?"<p>

Neuro yawned. Having to come over to the gym right in the middle of their P.E. class made him slightly sluggish. He just ran four laps earlier―not to mention―

―he just left Yako in the field for this bunch of cocky students (they were reeking of dried sweat from the earlier practice, by the way) who were practically shoving a bunch of pictures in his face. He grimaced.

"You seniors called me here and made me leave my little sowbug in that track field practically teeming with testosterone-filled male students. You must have a good reason for dragging me here aside from shoving pictures of those badly-dressed females in my face."

One of the seniors, a tall male with spiky hair whose height rivaled that of Neuro's, laughed.

"I guess you're not cracking yet. Eh, how do I say this―you see, we're kind of running a bit short on the team, and we need another member, and we're recruiting ya. What do you say?"

"...Nothing."

The basketball team sighed in unison. They have heard from Neuro's fellow freshmen that he was a hard rock to crack when it comes to making him succumb to temptation, but they didn't know it was this tough!

One student in particular, dug into his pockets and pulled out even more pictures―and for the second time, shoved them in Neuro's face.

"These are the best cheerleaders we have in school, and _these_―"

The student took out another bunch of photos from his socks—_disgusting_—and Neuro grimaced at the sight.

"―_these _girls are the sexiest in the tournament last year! I guarantee it that when you join our team, you could get one of these gals to 'play' with at night! Just look at those racks!"

Neuro scoffed and looked at the aforementioned girls in the photos. All of them resembled that Scottish student in a way.

Green eyes looked over the pictures, then at the hopeful eyes of the point guard, "And I should care about this because...?"

"Because they're the sexiest in the bunch. Duh. It's not everyday you'd get your eyes to feast on _that_. And they're very good at you-know-what," and the rest of the males snickered.

Neuro almost rolled his eyes at the vagueness of the male's statement. He had just been dragged away from the field for this, and he was growing irate. _They've got peanut-sized penises for brains._

He sighed and yawned, bored by the mere presence (and utter foolishness) of the team, "I don't know what that 'you-know-what' is, but all I know is that you have to let me leave now. My class is about to end and she'll be leaving without me. I'd be upset if that happened." Neuro didn't have to specify who that 'she' was, the rest of the school knew very well that Neuro only hanged out with one girl.

The team captain laughed as he patted Neuro on the shoulder, a wide smile in place as he winked at him. Neuro's eye twitched.

"Neu-_chan_, Neu-_chan_. I know ya like that kitten of yours, but _these_," the captain then pointed on the pictures, and he ignored the glare he received upon calling Neuro with a diminutive name, "are girls that have bigger bust (and butt) sizes than that girl you hang out with all the time! I mean, I know she's nice and adorable and cute and all―believe me, and I'm not saying that I'm eyeing her!―but these girls are the bomb! Imagine if you were on our team! You'd be famous! And girls love their boys with fame! Girls will clamor for your attention! You'd have these babies begging at your knees for you to shove your balls in their hoop! Eh, y'know what I mea―urk!"

His breath was cut short as a basketball hit his stomach. He doubled over on the floor as Neuro childishly giggled.

"Eh heh! Oh, I'm sorry! I saw one of these orange balls you kept on chasing all day and it just intrigued me! Frankly, I see nothing fun or mysterious in this dirty and air-filled thing," he quipped as the basketball bounced back to his palms. He dribbled it twice, and spun the ball on the tips of his spindly middle finger, his two fanged teeth glinting through his mouth as he spoke, "Looking at it closely, it's like your mind, filled with nothing but hot air! Or maybe this is the perfect illustration for those women you're so fond of? Those watermelon-like things you like to look at will look like this in the future."

Neuro grinned as he flattened the basketball with his bare hands―clearly done with ease―and threw it on the stunned team captain's face, its flattened surface hit the floor with a soft clop. The other members of the basketball team stood and gawked in awe at his strength.

"Imagine what those large lumps of fat will look like once they hit 70 years old! Nothing but a pair of sagging flesh with withered skin and ugly, worm-like veins hanging from the sides like the limp ball sacks dangling between your hairy legs!" Neuro chirped and smiled as he looked at the clock hanging from one side of the wall. He blinked, and his green and clear eyes widened, "Oh, will you look at the time! My class is almost done! Time to leave! I wouldn't want my little kitten to go astray! Bye now!"

And with that, he left, leaving a baffled basketball team in its wake.

One male managed to utter an undignified squeak after a few minutes of gaping like a fish―a very late response after Neuro had left.

"He just gave me a disgusting image of sagging boobs!"

* * *

><p>Neuro made it just in time before Yako had finished her second round of running laps.<p>

"Miss me, maggot?"

"Ow! Don't pinch my cheek! ...Hey, where did the seniors take you, anyway? I got to be paired with one of the boys because you were gone for almost an hour."

In response, Neuro barked a laugh as he lifted Yako by her foot and dangled her above ground. Yako immediately held the hems of her thin shirt and stifled a scream as to not catch the attention of anyone even if all she wanted was to yell at his face. They were in an open field for crying out loud!

Neuro shook her foot a bit, and Yako's upside-down vision swayed, "...Who is this boy you were paired with, hm?"

* * *

><p>"―and then you use this for your eyelids."<p>

"Kanae-_chan_. I know what they're used for. Just―I just want to know how they do the whole spider-lashes thing."

Kanae laughed and she tapped Yako's nose playfully, trying so hard to ignore the fact that her best friend seemed to have had officially made Neuro's Victorian shirt as her daily sleepwear. She bit her smile, "We'll get to that later. But first we have to―"

Kanae suddenly yelped at the sound of Yako's bedroom door slamming to the poor wall, and Neuro―clad in his usual longsleeved black shirt and blue sweatpants that he always wore inside the Katsuragi home―barged inside, scanning the room and clearly looking for something. A pair of dark green eyes landed on the merely blinking girl sitting on the little chair beside the bed.

"Yako! Have you seen my other sock? I'm sure I threw it in your smelly closet."

Yako, who faced Neuro with a frown, simply pointed to her closet door. He nodded and he threw the door open to see inside, rummaging through all of her clothes for one fluffy white sock.

Kanae blinked at the whole ordeal. Is this really normal for them? she thought. Yet, even so, she uttered no word as she looked at the determined countenance on Neuro's face. Her chocolate brown eyes then looked at Yako, who clearly look unfazed by his rude way of throwing all of her clothes in disarray.

"...looks like I have to fold them all over again," she heard Yako mumble.

Kanae wondered how her friend managed to stay calm with all of this havoc he was creating in her room.

Yako stood up and went over to Neuro's side, aiding him with finding the lost sock. Together, they threw everything they got their hands on over their shoulders, and after more fumbling with the clothes at the bottom compartment of Yako's now messy closet, Neuro huffed as he pulled out the missing sock from beneath a pile of Yako's sleepwear. Yako heaved a sigh as she now started to silently fold every piece of clothing back to their respective places, mentally taking note to separate his clothes from her clothes from now on.

Finally putting his sock on his cold foot with a smile, Neuro grappled Yako by her neck and flung her inside the closet, cackling all the while.

Kanae winced as she heard Yako's piercing yell.

* * *

><p>"No."<p>

"Wait. What? Why not? I'm going to be with my friend!"

"Which is exactly why I refuse to let you out of my sight. And it's already dark outside, your parents are not at home. Besides, hadn't that nosy girl been coming over here lately? What more could she want? She already painted your pudgy face with that horrible whorish make-up. Oh, and that libido-driven boy toy of hers might be there with her."

Yako sighed as she rubbed her temples. She had almost forgotten that Neuro was headstrong on his decision to keep an eye on her at _all_ times. She puffed her cheeks, "...Neuro. You have never left me out of your sight even once. Heck, you won't even _leave_ me when I'm in the girls' changing room in school! Every time when we have to change uniforms, I have to _painfully_ shove you out of the room with your stock body mass―and I have to deal with the giggling girls!―while you're pinching my nose and then I would not-so-patiently wait for everyone to finish before I could even change in my P.E. uniform because you _always insist on barging in on the damn room whenever I try to change_. Oh, and you should have said your last sentence first―wait. But she promised me that it will only be the two of us―"

"Like hell you actually believed that friend of yours. If that were the case, then go ahead―just, expect your room to be filled with the impending apocalypse by the time you return. Oh, and that little rant of yours won't work on me. Now that that filthy cockroach is crawling all over the school grounds, I have to guard you even more."

Yako bit her lip as she mustered to glare at Neuro. Earlier, she had received a call from Kanae stating that she'll treat her out for dinner―Yako knew very well that that was her way of saying that they needed a serious girl talk, so she agreed. Besides, it would be fun gossiping about this and that. Neuro, on the other hand―

He kept on, well, he kept on insisting that she would not go―  
><em><br>__―for selfish reasons, but she doesn't need to know that._

Yako groaned, clenched her fists on her sides, stomped her feet once, crossed her arms, glared at him, pouted with her brows furrowed, harrumphed, and turned her back on him. She knew that Neuro always meant well for her safety, he just never knew how to do things in a nice way.

And besides, she knew very well that his threat to her room was not just a bluff.

Neuro grinned as Yako stuck up her nose and mumbled a soft, 'you win.'

Her breath hitched as she then felt a pair of arms circling around her waist and shoulders, a huff of warm air greeted her sensitive nape as Neuro hunched over Yako and rested his chin on top of her head.

"Good girl," he whispered with a soft smile as they both stood in front of Yako's mirror. Their reflections mimicked their actions, one filled with mischief and one filled with exhaustion from arguing―and she tried to will away the blush staining her pale cheeks.

We look too intimate, was what she thought as she let his arms wound around her petite form. Her dainty hands held onto his arms, her head bowed.  
><em><br>__Was this how we always looked like in front of others?_

The weight on her scalp ebbed away, and a warm and familiar trail of saliva kissed her neck. On impulse, she tilted her neck, and her eyes landed on the mirror in front of them―

―and Yako gasped.

"Had we always looked like this?" she asked, and her breath stopped as her ear was nibbled. She instinctively moaned.

He chuckled as he whispered in her ear, "Why? It surprised you? You always turn into a panting and intriguing mess that resembles a writhing cat in the heat whenever I bite your ear, you know that?"

She groaned.

"I'll take that as a no, then."

He blew air on her ear, and she instantly shivered. Liking the way she reacted from such a simple act, he grinned as he tilted Yako's chin to the mirror with his middle finger, "See?"

A deep rumble of a throaty laugh met her ears.  
><em><br>__"You're like a wild little strumpet, my slave."_

Yako couldn't help but to close her eyes and lean her head back to his shoulder―her back arched at the sound of his voice. Hearing such words from that ever dirty mouth should never arouse her, but―

―her mouth had opened the moment he had uttered those words to her, and her hands tightened their hold on his arms, her toes curled and her whole body quivered as she came with a choked cry.

Neuro grinned and laughed.  
><em><br>__"You lecherous little slut. You soiled your underwear with your squirting waters again."_

Yako merely sighed, and gave way to bucking her knees as her weight fell on Neuro's waiting frame.

In the end, Yako decided to just call Kanae on the phone to talk with her―

―all the while trying to muffle her moans and gasps (_"Yes, I'll get tha―oh lips―hm―tick tomorro―oh―"_) as Neuro mercilessly ravished her mouth and neck with nips and bites on her bed.

* * *

><p>It was becoming quite rare for Neuro to come home to his house, and yet even so, Zera made little complaint—one reason being not to be able to feel the pain of a hardbound book on the face for a couple of weeks (and that was already a blessing for the caretaker). (S)he still made dishes for him every night, just in case, though.<p>

Tonight was one of the rare nights that he came home, stating that Yako was 'well and there was nothing to fear about'. Indeed, the Nougami caretaker had deduced that he had been too protective of the Katsuragi girl throughout the years—(s)he never blamed him, though.  
><em><br>__That girl is the only one I've seen who had endured Neuro-sama's tortures and yet faithfully remains with him throughout the years they've known each other. Even I cannot compare to her loyalty._

Neuro had been lying on his bed for the past few hours, reading yet another book—a thick, English paperback novel—while he hummed.

Zera had noticed that his master's phone was carelessly thrown in the wastebasket near the door.

"Neuro-_sama_? Why is your phone in the trash—"

"Did you tell them my number?"

Zera paused in dusting the books on the shelves as (s)he looked at the frowning male, "Pardon?"

Neuro sighed as he flipped a page on his book, he mentally noted that he had the dumbest caretaker in the face of the planet (albeit he wouldn't say it out loud for some reason), "Did you tell those people my phone number?"

Zera cocked his head, not following his charge's question, "I'm afraid I don't understa—"

"That good-for-nothing couple. Did you tell them?" he rephrased his question as his voice raised an octave, a sign that Zera took as an oncoming fit of anger about to burst from Neuro's temper. (S)he quickly said no.

"Then where do you suppose they have gotten my number, then? Out of thin air?"

Zera didn't speak. Neuro huffed as he threw his book on his caretaker's face, a passive frown painted his lips as he spoke.

"You are not to speak with those cold-blooded beasts anymore. You are not bounded to them. You have severed that worthless bond ever since we came here. You are making a decent living here by tailoring clothes and not being a pathetic workhorse in that boreal house. I have been your master since we came here and not them. Do you understand?"

Zera merely nodded at his words.

Hate and apathy had always been present in Neuro's whirlpool green eyes whenever he would think about the Nougami household back in that faraway place. The country's weather had always been cruel to the then four-year-old Neuro. Bitter and stinging cold had always been his way of describing the climate—and the winters have always never ceased to bring him weeks of pain and sickness in his bed.

The child's parents also seemed to resemble the piercing cold, too, in a way.

Always away from the house. Rarely coming home. When at times that they _do _come home, he would only get a short glimpse of them from the vast hallways of the mansion. A brief nod and a barely mumbled greeting at their son. And they would always scurry away with their workload in tow—leaving the then child playing with the thoroughly-used Rubik's cube that the couple gave to him on his first day of kindergarten.

The then young Neuro had always been with Zera whenever the couple (Neuro had never referred to them as his parents) would leave the house—the two of them would always talk about anything; Neuro would follow Zera—who had always been too busy cleaning the whole house—wherever (s)he would go. Like a lost little duckling.

The caretaker will never forget the day that he told him that they were leaving for Japan. The couple seemed to have been taken aback by their son's sudden and seemingly rash decision—how he had managed to swiftly arrange and book a flight to a completely foreign country in a matter of a few weeks was beyond Zera's knowledge.

The then young Neuro had left as soon as his parents told him he was allowed to leave—and he had taken Zera with him, much to their dismay.

Looking at his now teenage charge, he seemed to have lost the coldness that once enveloped his eyes, the faraway look being replaced by a now familiar fondness and warmth in those pools of black and green—an expression he never once wore when he was a boy.

(S)he supposed it was because of Yako.

"Neuro-_sama _is not what he used to be, I see."

Neuro snorted and smiled as he leaned on the headboard and closed his eyes, his arms lying lazily on his stomach, "Hmph. Your eyes are deceiving you."

"You're becoming soft."

Zera's ears met silence. He did not know if that was a good thing or not.

"...Am I right, Neuro-_sama_?"

He had only laughed.

That night, it didn't escape Zera's watchful gaze as (s)he spied on Neuro through the small opening on his bedroom door.

The green-eyed teenager had slept hugging a pillow close to his chest, a warm smile spread on his lips as he weakly mumbled Yako's name.

Zera smiled.

The caretaker remained silent about the matter with the cell phone and the persistent callers.  
><em><br>__I don't want to die yet!_

* * *

><p>Yuuya had been restless since the day Neuro had broken his left shoulder blade. He hid his pain well from Kanae every time they would meet, often wearing jackets to hide the bulky bandages wrapped on his person.<p>

The tall young man was possessive to the core. That person had never left Yako's side. It was odd, Yuuya mused, that she had never once left his side despite the way he treated her all the time. He could still remember the first time he laid eyes on them—still quite young and both as lively as day. That incident in the bookstore on that lazy afternoon nine years ago had always remained fresh in his mind. The way the then seven-year-old Neuro had brazenly shouted at the woman who had hit Yako on the forehead with a gun hidden inside a candy bag, in particular, had left a huge impression on Yuuya that he just _had _to track them down—

—they could be useful in the police department in the future, he had thought on that day.

"...Ow. He threw me really hard..."

"Hi-_kun_? What's wrong?"

He laughed and discreetly rubbed his back to hide the pain, "No, nothing's wrong. Just talking to myself! Oh, Kagohara! Would you like to go window shopping?"

* * *

><p>"Neuro? Why would you want to get a new phone all of a sudden? The one you had wasn't even broken—ow!"<p>

"Foolish slave. I don't have to explain everything to you, do I? I wanted a new phone so I could sleep in peace. There. Is that answer good enough?"

Yako rubbed her arm. Neuro had almost given her a bruise.

"No, that answer's not good enough. Who is that person who keeps calling you at insane times, anyway? In the ice cream parlor, too. Your phone vibrated in your pocket. I kind of felt it through the table, you see."

Neuro stopped in his tracks, his back rigid and his neck stiffened. She knew. He had always known that she had known and noticed that something had bothered him since that day in her room—  
><em><br>__—I should have thrown that phone earlier when I had the chance._

"None of your business," he muttered, and Neuro took a step forward, towards the people walking by, his mind determined to steer clear of a topic that he would rather not discuss with Yako.

He heard her huff and the familiar clop of her boots on the pavement echoed in his ears, and he knew that she had just gotten upset at his dismissive demeanor.

"It is _so _my business! You've been acting strange whenever that phone vibrates and it bothers me to no end, you know!" she exclaimed as she grabbed on his sleeve and hand, and she hurriedly followed him; her tiny grunt didn't fail to make Neuro frown.

He was silent as they walked, dark green eyes intent on looking forward towards the rush of people passing by, rather than at the girl who was looking at him with wide and worry-filled eyes. No, he would not give in to those caramel-glazed orbs.

Yako didn't say a word, opting to just bite her lip and rub her face on his sleeve as they walked.

Neuro tightened his hold on her hand.

"I'll tell you when it's time," he slowly mumbled, almost incoherently, and the barely uttered words almost escaped Yako's hearing—the hustle and bustle of the people around them was making it hard to keep a conversation with him. Being in public places would often be the times when Neuro was at his most silent moments—his black-green eyes would constantly dart left and right, searching for something that was hidden in the shadows behind the trees and the walls.

Her lips tugged upwards just the slightest at the simple and _almost_-shy act of trying to soothe her mind—saying those words must be hard for him; he wasn't one to utter such words of reassurance. He could be the nicest man when he wanted to be.

Neuro's thumb lightly grazed the back of Yako's tiny hand and knuckles, tracing little circles on her skin as they walked. It was better this way, he mused—at least he wouldn't have to be forced to talk for now.

Neuro ended up buying an expensive new phone that day—courtesy of Yako's hungry wallet.

* * *

><p>"Why do you women have to smear that thing on your face?"<p>

Yako scoffed at Neuro's words, "Neuro. I'm not smearing it on my face; it's only on my lips. I need to do it to make my lips look fuller."

He merely crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her explanation, his current book temporarily forgotten, "Why?"

"Eh?"

"Why the need to make your lips look like a pair of ugly duck beaks?"

Yako laughed. His naïveté would always take her by surprise. Who knew that the haughty and egoistic Nougami Neuro would be so clueless to something as simple as makeup?

"It is so that women will look attractive to people. Well, I don't think I'm really the ultra bombshell type, but a little something goes a—"

"And you have to look attractive to others because...?"

"Because it will boost a girl's confidence if you look good."

"And?"

"And um—why do I have to explain it to you, anyways?"

"Because you look stupid, that's why."

She huffed and turned away from him.

It was true that she could never compare to the more beautiful girls her age—heck, even Mutsuki seemed to outshine her at times—but she could try to at least highlight her features a bit, but—

—Neuro was making her feel like dirt again.

She harrumphed as she faced the mirror, lip balm now poised on her bottom lip, "Well I'm sorry if I look stupid to you, then." She applied two coats of her raspberry-flavored lip balm on her peach-hued lips, smacking them twice before dabbing away the excess traces of lipstick—cherry-red—from her lip line. She ignored the burning pair of whirlpool green eyes staring at her incessantly.

"I don't understand you," he said, frowning at the sight of her furrowed eyebrows and cherry-red lips. Yako put down her lip balm and faced him with a stern glare. Neuro stared back, his eyes thoroughly uninterested at that angry face she had.

"I don't understand you, either."

"Hmph. You know I'm going to remove that on you, anyway. Why do you have to put so much effort in it?"

At this, Yako blinked, and tried to process his words, "Eh? What do you—mmph!" It was already too late when she realized that he had lured her into a trap—oh.

Two words reached her dainty and heated ears.

"Got you."

Yako groaned as a pair of smiling lips collided with her own—smearing her freshly-applied lipstick all over her face with his lips and tongue and—

—Neuro cleaned her up thoroughly afterwards.

"You're a sly fox."

"Heh. You're a minx, you know that? Tempting me with those cranberry-flavored lips. You don't know what you're doing to me, Yako."

She moaned.

A knock was heard on the door, and they scrambled away from each other in a split second, with Yako wiping away the remnants of his saliva and her smeared lipstick on her lips and Neuro licking and nipping her ears clean like an affectionate cat. At least his body was a yard away from her.

"Yako-_chan_? Breakfast is ready," it was Miwako who opened the door, and Neuro greeted the Katsuragi housekeeper with a smile. Yako's heart almost stopped.

_I thought we got caught!_

* * *

><p>The same scenario seemed to repeat itself inside the Katsuragi household—<p>

—Neuro had been taking glorious advantage of the absence of the Katsuragi couple and Miwako for the past four days.

"Neuro—not—ah—"

"Hmm? I can't hear you through the sound your voice is making, little kitten."

"Damn yo—oh!"

He grinned as his tongue licked on her inner thigh, his teeth nibbling on her supple flesh, admiring the way his teeth marks appeared on her flushed skin.

Such temptation!

Moaning at the sight, Neuro scratched her right outer thigh, and his ears got tickled at the sound of Yako's choked gasp.

He licked the scratch marks he left on her, and a long sigh emitted from her lips as she languidly arched her back. He rubbed his cheek on her flat tummy, smiling lazily all the while. Yako almost cooed at the sight and at the feel of his hair tickling her flushed skin. It was rare sight for him to act in such a way—_so adorable!_

She wondered how things have escalated to the way they were now. She blamed her unfortunate timing of coming out of the shower. She shouldn't have let him lock her in there. Damn imp locked her in the bathroom from the outside with a chair lodged on the doorknob for an hour, and before she knew it—

—he had barged inside the bathroom while she was still in her underwear and—  
><em><br>__—everything became a blur._

Neuro was calmer now, Yako noticed. Ever since he bought a new phone a few days ago, he had stopped becoming rigid and restless at night. She still wondered who the caller was. Who was this person that seemed fearful enough to make Neuro statuesque in her presence, of all things?

Her brown eyes flitted to his serene face. His head was still lying on her tummy, a tiny ghost of a smile present on his face as he rubbed small circles on her thigh with his thumb. Yako fought with her inner self not to lash out at him for what he did. Even so, it was hard to get mad at him when he was sporting such a relaxed face.

She smiled as she tucked away the stray strands of his hair from his left cheek, smoothing his locks as she did so. She gulped at the sudden thought of her parents. What if they see her like this? What would they think? They would definitely get mad—at her and at Neuro, but—

"You're tense."

"...I'm just thinking about what my parents would say if they could see us like this."

"Feh. Don't think about it. As if I'd let us get into that situation. I have perfect appearances to keep, you know."

Yako laughed.

"Yeah. Ultra fake appearances to keep—ow."

He had slapped her thigh.

Yako looked at his lazy form. He was donned in a gray sleeveless shirt, a rare type of clothing for him to wear, and an oversized pair of sweatpants—and no, she was not thinking of how she was intimately feeling his bare and smooth skin, not to mention his head was a few centimeters away from her crotch.  
><em><br>__So warm._

They laid there for a quarter of an hour, him quietly enjoying the sound of her stomach gurgling from within her flesh, and her basking in the feel of his warm skin on her tummy.

Yako's phone rang from her dresser, and she answered it. Neuro hummed from where he laid, his green eyes closed as he listened to the sound of her voice echoing through his ears.

"Yes, mother?" quipped Yako through the phone. Neuro immediately nibbled on the skin of her stomach. She bit her lip and tugged on his hair as she muffled a yelp. He chuckled at her treatment.

He listened as she nodded and spoke about her chores. Neuro crawled on her on all fours and hovered close to her face and purred on her left ear. Yako gasped at the onslaught of warm air.  
><em><br>__"Yako? Are you all right?"_

He mustered a grin upon hearing the echo of Haruka's voice on the other end of the line. Yako glared at him. Neuro pecked her on the cheek with a smirk. That sly devil.

"I'm fine, mother. An ant just bit me," and she bit his lower lip for revenge. Her brown eyes watched his now slightly red and swollen lip, and he smirked at her—

—he bit her jugular.

She muffled a moan.

_"Oh, okay, then. Make sure you put some ointment on it, honey. You wouldn't want to leave a mark on it because you would always scratch your itch—which I'm sure you're scratching that itch right now." __  
><em>  
>Neuro guffawed at the words. Yako groaned.<br>_  
><em>_"Oh, is Neuro there? Tell him to eat as much as he wants, okay? He's always welcome!"_

Yako sighed, "...I'll tell him, mother, and I'm not scratching the... itch. Just—bring some food on your way back!" And Haruka laughed on the other end of the line.  
><em><br>__"All right. We'll bring them. Leave some food for Neuro over there if you're eating, honey! We'll be back by tomorrow, okay?"_

"Okay. Take care. Bye, mother," and she hung up.

Glaring straight at Neuro's gleeful emerald eyes, she huffed, "What was that for!"

"We have more time on our hands, moldy."

"That wasn't the answer I was looking for, you dolt!" she exclaimed. Even so, it was difficult to get mad at him when he was draped over her like a security blanket—

—and the smile that he had had always crumbled her resolve to be mad at him.

He grinned as she placed her phone back on the dresser, his mischievous dark green eyes looking down at the thin cloth that Yako wore, "I can see the outline of your nippl—"

Yako slapped a hairbrush to his face.

He smiled, and smothered her with kisses—and Yako's complaints hushed within his tongue.

"Hm. I wonder what would happen if I tug on this string—"

"Don't pull it—"

"And why not? It has a strange design. I thought these things are always on the back side?"

"Well, there are different designs of bras and—hey! I told you not to pull it!"

"Oh? Did you say that? I'm sorry, my hearing must be failing me these days. Allow me to tie it again—"

"No way! And don't use your teeth to tie it back, you demon!"

Neuro huffed as he laid his elbows on either side of Yako's arms—the slim yellow strings held captive in between his pearly teeth—his body still wrapped over her in a protective cocoon as he smiled.

"I see nothing wrong with me tugging it. It's not like there's a massive pair of soft mountains beneath that flimsy cloth, anyway."

Yako's cheeks flamed, "Well, _excuse me _for not having a pair of watermelons for a chest!"

"Feh. I never said anything about disliking it, stupid. In fact, I rather prefer them small than those humungous fatty flesh on some broads I've seen on those stupid television commercials. More than a handful is a waste, anyway."

"Since when did my bust size become your concern?"

"Hm. Good question. Shall I search for the answer?"

"I'd rather have you asking."

"Hah!"

And Neuro dipped his head low on the slope between her modest chest, and hummed as he licked a small trail of saliva. Yako shivered beneath his tongue.

"We'd better not—"

"Hmph. I know. We have to wait until I could fully sheathe myself inside your pink flesh."

A sigh. A gasp. Yako arched her back as that tongue travelled downward towards her navel, "That wasn't what I was talking abou—ah..."

Neuro smiled as he kissed her heaving stomach, hands sprawled on both of her thighs. Yes, she may not have the breasts as huge as a pair of watermelons—as she had previously stated (_Why does she have to compare herself to a fruit, anyway?_)—but hell—

—he sure loved her thighs.

With a feral growl, his nails scratched her outer thighs, loving the way Yako had wound her fingers to his hair and groaned as he did so.

Oh, his masochistic little kitten!

His teeth nipped her flesh, taking extra care not to swipe his tongue and mouth to her quite moist and tempting orifice.

He was saving the best for last.

He grinned.

"Kitten?"

Yako, feeling quite dazed at the onslaught of his tongue quite near the place where she badly wanted his tongue to be—as much as she hated to admit it—only managed a breathy and incoherent response, opting to just open her mouth and mumble a soft "Nn—ah...?" as she looked at Neuro's quite gleeful face.

"We have been given more time by your parents—what do you say... if I told you that we can have a little _fun _with the hours that were so graciously given to us? Like... hm—"

A long and languid lick was given to her left inner thigh, the tip of his tongue getting quite close to her—

"—shall we play a game of 'I Touch'? I promise I'll let you touch me this time."

Yako's reply was a round of gasps and a furious bucking of her hips as her hands removed themselves from his hair and covered her mouth instead, in a feeble attempt to muffle the noises she uttered. He was getting _this _close to pulling her arms away from her chest—she had to quickly cover it for modesty's sake, he supposed.

Neuro licked his lips at the sight of her small and heaving breasts peeking from the place on which her thin brassiere and her arms couldn't cover.

Oh.

He had to calm himself.

The beginnings of drivel were making its way to his mouth.

He was losing control.

A quick shift of his legs had his crotch burning upon being touched by the fabric of his sweatpants.

He buried his face on her fleshy thigh and bit it—

—Yako's fingers returned to his locks and tugged a handful of blond hairs painfully on his scalp. He moaned.

Hooded whirlpool black-green eyes glanced at the heavily panting Yako, then at the digital clock sitting beside her phone on the dresser.

One o'clock.

And it was only noon, too!  
><em><br>__Oh, we're going to have so much fun!_

* * *

><p>Yuuya had been hiding away from a certain green-eyed man since their trip to the mall a few days ago. He suspected that Neuro had seen him when he was going to buy Kanae a new pair of shoes. Yuuya was sure he saw him. That piercing and burning green fire glare hadn't escaped his gaze. It was a surprise, though, that he didn't throw him to the wall—again—the moment their eyes met.<p>

He supposed it was because Neuro was with Yako at that time, but if she weren't there with him on that day—

—Yuuya could only imagine what could have happened if Neuro were alone.

...The horror!

He shivered as he remembered, for the umpteenth time, the anger that Neuro had thrown into his poor bones during their encounter in the hot springs.

It seemed that Yako was shielded from whatever evil that could trap her in any way—and it was because of that towering man, the eagle and hawk that constantly hovered and watched over her.

Kanae had always been kind to him, always giving him chances to repair his mistakes. Yuuya knew that she had been suspicious of him lately. He was no fool.

Still, he couldn't help but feel somehow detached from her.

Turning off his laptop, the bespectacled young man leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling.

"...it's not my fault that Katsuragi is a whole lot more loyal to him than Kagohara is to me. I wish Kagohara is like that."

* * *

><p>"Oh? You saw us? Um, why didn't you call me, then?"<p>

Kanae laughed. It was true that she saw Neuro and Yako going inside an electronics store a few days ago, though she couldn't quite understand why Yuuya, who had seen them as well, adamantly refused on waving a hand towards them. In the end, she, too, didn't call their attention. She was sure that Neuro saw them, though. Kanae even saw him smile towards her—though a question arose in her mind—

—Neuro had never once alerted Yako of their presence.

"Well, um. You guys were busy looking at cell phones, so I, uh—thought that you two shouldn't be bothered."

Yako laughed as she ignored the warm chest on her back, and the lean pair of arms that coiled themselves around her stomach and shoulders.

Yako swallowed a moan. Her skin had become hypersensitive to his touches ever since his hands had roamed all over her body two days ago, and it was becoming hard for her to control herself around him. He had awakened the devil inside her soul—and he knew it very well.

He was taking advantage of her weakness—his heated touches and his warm presence had always made her feel at ease. Even so—he aroused her.  
><em><br>__Damn him._

"Oh, Kanae-_chan_! You know it's all right if it's you who is calling us! Right, Neuro?" and she nudged him playfully as she felt a chin rubbing on her scalp. She guessed Neuro wasn't fond of Kanae. Not that Yako minded it at all. Nope.

Kanae merely laughed at Neuro's calculating gaze. She knew quite well that she had never been welcomed in his presence, though she didn't exactly know why.

"Oh, yeah! That lipstick you gave me was flawless! Thanks!" piped Yako, smiling at Kanae's slightly darkened face. It was to lift a mood for a bit, and Yako hoped it worked.

It did, Yako supposed, judging Kanae's quick flip from a frown to a wide beam.

"Really? See! I told you it's nice! So! ...why are you not wearing it today?"

Yako giggled, and Neuro hummed from behind her, his legs were hugging her own, she noticed—and it looked too risqué for Yako, but still...

"Well, I wouldn't want it to get on my face once I stuff myself with food! It will smear, you know. That, and another reason... So I decided I would wear it only when I'm not eating!"

Hearing Yako's explanation made Kanae satisfied, at least. Still, she kind of wanted to know what the other reason was, though she was sure that reason somehow involved the smiling man hugging Yako from behind.

"...Piggy. Don't lie to yourself. You never stop eating unless you're asleep. And I'm sure you're dreaming of food in your sleep. That poor lipstick will rot in your bag."

"Don't expose my dreams, dummy!"

Kanae laughed.

In the end, Kanae never told Yako that the real reason why she hadn't called her when they were in the mall that day was because she was afraid a fight would break out between Neuro and Yuuya.

She would never forget how Neuro had glared at Yuuya when their eyes had met.

It was the look of someone about to kill.  
><em><br>__What happened between them?_

* * *

><p>"—and then sh-she rejected me! Like trash!"<p>

"...Well, Godai-_san_... Noma-_sensei _is um... a bit older than yo—"

"I dun care! I would giv'er my soul if I have ta! Why did it have to be her!"

Yako sighed as she patted Shinobu on the back weakly. It was a bit after their English class that she noticed that something was wrong with the usual grumpy Shinobu. He didn't seem to look like the blushing and bashful man that he was whenever the English teacher was around. And when Yako made the move to ask him about it, the thug immediately broke down in tears—outside of the classroom, of course.

Chugging down another can of beer, he hiccuped.

That beer has got to go if he wants to live longer, Yako thought with a small smile.

_Good thing we're on the roof where his stench couldn't be tracked down by the teachers._

Yako thinned her lips and turned to the blankly smiling Neuro beside her.

A vial of liquid paraffin was beside his hand. Yako almost laughed. _He poured laxatives in his beer again._

Apparently, Shinobu had confessed his feelings to his favorite teacher earlier after lunch—

—sadly, he had been rejected. Quite frankly, too.

Still...

"Dammit! I won't give up!"

Yako could only muster a crooked smile as he messily wiped his runny nose on his dirty handkerchief, "Th-that's the spirit, Godai-_san_!"

* * *

><p>Mutsuki had always been fond of Yako, often tailing behind her and Neuro whenever they would go to the roof or the library—though there were times when she could tell that the two needed to be alone, she was no innocent, after all—and even with her ever observant eye, she couldn't quite tell when a new student had joined their small clique.<p>

This student, it seemed, looked like he always had the need to go to the nearest toilet.

And he looked like he was forcibly dragged by Mutsuki's 'Neuro-_nii_'.

The thought almost made her laugh.

"_Nee-chan_? Who is he?" Mutsuki asked as she looked at Yako with a bright smile. If this grouchy man were friends with her Neuro-_nii_, then she should also be friends with him!—was what Mutsuki thought.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, you haven't met him yet. His name is Godai Shinobu-_san_. You can call him whatever you want. I call him Godai-_san_, though," said Yako with a smile as she chewed on her chocolate chip cookies—courtesy of the newly-opened bakery near the train station. It had taken her ten minutes to convince Neuro to buy her a bag of cookies earlier. And it ended up with her getting dragged away by a smiling Neuro. In exchange for the cookies, she had been humiliated by him (yet again)—that sharpie had been his recent companion whenever he would get bored, and Yako had always been its victim. It had been filled with permanent ink, too! ...Not to mention, it took her half an hour to remove all of the traces of profanities and possessive messages he had written on her face on their way to school. The moment the students had laid their eyes on Yako this morning had been a mess. The hastily written, "Property of Nougami Neuro" on her right thigh had been especially hard to scrub off—it took her a nice lather of hand soap combined with hand sanitizer and a full bottle of rubbing alcohol to remove everything off of her poor skin. And she had done it all while Neuro was happily smiling in front of the sink in the ladies' room—he had put an "Out of Order" sign in front of the restroom (_that clever man_). He didn't mind it at all that they had been late for Jody's class. He never really liked that teacher, anyway.

Mutsuki clapped her hands at the newfound information about the constantly constipated-looking man. With a tiny forefinger pointed at his face, she beamed.

"_Gocchan_!"

Shinobu blinked at the sudden outburst, "Eh?" Even Neuro had stopped reading his book to look at the broadly grinning girl.

"I'll call you Gocchan! I can't call you Shino-_nii_ because Neuro-_nii_ had already taken that place! So I'll call you _Gocchan_!"

"Whaddafuck d'ya mean _Gocchan_! Aah?"

"Heh. Now, now, _'Gocchan_'. One as spineless and as stinky as you shouldn't be yelling and cursing at girls."

"Shaddup, Monster! I ain't spineless an'stinky! And I'm not '_Gocchan_', ya hear me, kid!"

Mutsuki hurriedly hid behind Yako, whimpering, as soon as his face glowered near her.

"...Gocchan yelled at me..." she mumbled.

And Neuro laughed as Shinobu's angry façade quickly melted into that of an apologizing wreck in front of the little teenager.

Godai Shinobu had swiftly earned the nickname, 'Gocchan' from Mutsuki, 'Ikujinonai-_san_' from Neuro, and 'Mr. Nice Guy' from Yako.

Needless to say, Shinobu's fame of being a juvenile delinquent had been pulverized to a grinding halt that day.

* * *

><p>'Ikujinonai' basically means a 'spineless or a weak person'. XD O yea, Genuine will make a comeback next chapter. Just sayin'. And I feel like nothing major had happened in this chapter. Hm... =


	11. Arx

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Arx <strong>

* * *

><p>There was a rumor spreading around ―a noisy little bug had been wrecking havoc on The Neuron's patience lately.<p>

Nougami Neuro was known throughout the school for his immense amount of patience (and overprotectiveness) regarding one Katsuragi Yako... His patience for other people, on the other hand―

―it could be considered as thin as a sheet.

Yukinori twirled a pencil in his hand as he gazed at the boisterous students flitting and laughing about in the classroom.

That sadistic man had always been clinging very closely to the Katsuragi girl, and that girl had always been with Kanae.

_His _Kanae.

Growling, he inadvertently broke the pencil in his hand.

The little bug―a termite, as Neuro had once described―had been on the prowl to search for a certain girl ever since _it _landed on his territory. A girl that originally belonged to him.

Yukinori grinned as he stood up, dusting away the remnants of tiny wood splinters on his palm. Several pairs of eyes glanced at him, quickly nodding before going on about their way, and Yukinori left his class.  
><em><br>__Time to meet the overprotective eagle._

* * *

><p>Jennifer had the craziest idea of trying to win Neuro's affection this morning—not that she really had a chance in the first place, but she did try. It had involved her with trying to undress in front of him―in the middle of the hallway―<p>

―in front of Yako.

And, as expected of him, he had merely raised an eyebrow and yawned, and had pushed (kicked) Jennifer away―using his foot―from the path that he and Yako were about to take. Yako had only hummed—quite uncharacteristic of her, Jennifer assumed—as she passed by the fallen Scottish student. Needless to say, it only spurred Jennifer on.

She sighed as she looked at Neuro and Yako's smiling forms, it would be so easy to break them apart, was what she initially thought. But their bond was strong.

A long and red-hued fingernail tapped an equally red bottom lip, her eyeliner-rimmed eyes casting glances upon the blond man's smiling face.

He was tall. Blond. Foreign. Strange. A sadist. And young. Oh so _young_. And Jennifer had pined for him since the day he pushed her to the bulletin board. She hummed.

Too bad his attention had always been on his "little kitten".

A lone, strange figure entered the room, and Jennifer's eyebrow raised as that figure―_a young man_―approached Neuro.

"Hey, Nougami, Katsuragi," the platinum-haired man said, his greeting laced with haughtiness as he regarded them with a tiny simper.

Yako looked up from her position on the chair. Her back was currently heaving Neuro's socked feet, and it was getting hard for her to move. Nevertheless, she didn't complain.

Neuro, who was now leaning back on his chair with a small smile―no doubt from feeling Yako's back with his bitty toes (_Don't remove my bra, you idiot!_)―looked at the intruder, and regarded said intruder with a small hum.

"Oh. Hello. To what do I owe you this unwanted and untimely visit, Principal's little brother?" Neuro asked with a small simper of his own as Yako pulled away from his socked feet with a flushed face. She laid them on her shoulders instead, and Neuro smiled―his obedient little louse.

The intruder, Yukinori, huffed, and he smirked at Yako's now baffled face.

"You and your little lovebug. I need to talk to you two."

"What ever for? I haven't done anything to warrant your wrath, have I? How about you, piglet?"

Yako furiously shook her head, and opted not to retort at calling her a 'lovebug'. _It's what the whole school probably thinks, anyway._

Yukinori laughed as he regarded their wide-eyed looks, "I need to talk to you two about the item that was stolen from me."

"We're not detectives, fire-boy."

"Hah! I know you aren't. I'm not talking about a _real _item."

"Oh? Using euphemisms, are we? What good will it do?"

"For anonymity."

At this, Neuro nudged Yako with his left foot, his face scrunched up in confusion, and he was answered with a vague shrug of shoulders.

* * *

><p>"...really, now?"<p>

There was a round of silence, and Yako spoke up.

"Yukinori-_san_ wants _us_ to talk sense into Kanae-_chan_?"

Yukinori nodded stiffly, his face dark and serious as he looked at Yako and Neuro. The formidable pair―as he had once dubbed them as―stood in front of him, blinking in confusion. The taller of the two, Neuro, had a certain look in his eye the whole time they were having a conversation.

"What's in it for us, I wonder?" asked Neuro with a small hum and a bright smile, and Neuro couldn't quite help it if he could trust this person. Godai was a different story, though. He could be manipulated. Yukinori, on the other hand...

"I'll be your ally. Me and my brother, in fact. If anyone would dare cross with you and your kitten, they would have hell to pay. You two could bypass the rules. I only need you two to say the word."

Yako cocked her head to one side, eyes blinking upon hearing his words. No one would try to anger Neuro, right? _And why am I still a kitten?_

A long and pondering hum. A thoughtful finger perched upon his chin. A lazy smile painted on his thin lips. An amused look on his marbled face.

"Pros and cons. Hm. Decisions, decisions..."

Yukinori gulped as he looked at those calculating green eyes and that mischievous smile. Nougami Neuro was said to be very much wary of his surroundings and of the people he mingled with. Very little was known about his private affairs throughout the school. Only the closest to him, the Neuron's "baby bird", Katsuragi Yako, was the only one who could actually see through his actions and words.

The chill of the May wind seeped through Yukinori's bones as he counted the seconds that would take Neuro to answer. The skies were starting to darken, and soon, they would be drenched in rain.

Why had they talked on the rooftop again?

He had once heard from Mutsuki that Neuro had always hated the rain. Yukinori wouldn't want to make his mood turn sour just because of the weather. Making decisions would be easier if one's mood was at ease.

"Yako, what do you think?" he heard Neuro ask, and Yukinori was sure that he was amused—that lilting and sudden high-pitched voice said so.

Yako hummed, and a little smile played on her pink-glossed lips as she, too, pondered the decision she should make. A pair of deep, whirlpool green eyes gazed at her with what Yukinori could only assume as pride and playfulness.  
><em><br>__Their smiles look alike._

"Well," Yako began, as she, too, tapped a finger on her chin. "It would be nice if we could have an ally on the higher-ups. It might be unfair to some, but―that's all there is." Neuro huffed, a wide smile played upon his lips as he wrapped his arms around her petite form, "Grasping at straws now, are we?" And she laughed as his chin then sat atop of her scalp. He smugly looked at Yukinori, and hummed.

"It seems to be all right for my little maggot. So I think I'll be nice and cooperate with this little game of yours."

A chuckle reverberated through their ears, and Yukinori looked at the darkening skies, "About time―

"―I need to get my flame back, Nougami."

Neuro laughed, his smile wide and his teeth bared as he spoke, "Do you get to rip the computer bug's pride to shreds while you're at it?"

Yukinori nodded.

And Neuro's eyes glinted with glee.

"Perfect."

* * *

><p>"Yako, it's quite rare for you to go out without Nougami-<em>san<em>."

Yako laughed as Kanae sipped on her iced tea. True, Neuro had released her from her leash this time, but still, the feeling of freedom that she should be feeling right now never really coarsed through her veins.

She blamed all of her accessories for it.

From her grinning hair clips to her prickly bracelet to the beautifully-customized choker wrapped snugly around Yako's neck―courtesy of the work of Neuro's own hands, for once―all of them have one thing in common.

Wired devices. Hidden beneath their designs.

Her hair clips served as listening devices, each connected to an earpiece that was placed in Neuro's ear. Her bracelet served as a tracking device, and Yako's current location could be tracked down by Neuro's computer.

And finally, her choker. The only accessory that Yako had considered as genuine―_and expensive!_―jewelry. Two black leather straps lined with platinum, each embedded with soft feathers drawn out of melted white gold and rose gold. Speckles of ruby showered its form, and it hugged her slim neck with a comfortable weight. A white gold clasp held it together, the chain felt cool against her nape. A pendant of jade laced with onyx shone to the world, its frame made of tungsten. Yako instantly held the choker dear―for it was the first time that Neuro had lavished her with such a thing.

A tiny camera sat beneath the combined jewels that hugged her petite neck. Its pendant deceived whoever might look at it at first glance. A deceptive shine shone behind the onyx, and Neuro had made sure that the camera would be very much camouflaged.

It didn't fail to make Yako wonder, however―  
><em><br>__―how did he get this? Moreover, how did he make it? I mean, he hid my accessories from me for three days until I could finally wear them again, and all—and—I never once saw his room with such precious metals! Where on earth did he get his materials for this thing? _

"Neuro made sure I would be safe before he had let me go, you see," Yako said with a smile as she bit on her sixth slice of pizza. Kanae laughed. Yako's eyes fell on her prickly bracelet, she shook it a bit and she smiled.

Neuro sat on his bed, in front of his laptop, with a pair of earphones placed on his ears as he looked at the monitor with a smile.

His little pillbug and her friend were in a restaurant near the noisy district of Akihabara, and he was sure that by the end of the night, Yako's wallet would be depleted for the umpteenth time because of her gluttony.

Neuro huffed as he looked at the monitor. He should have let Yako wear a pair of eyeglasses instead of a choker. The camera's position in the pendant was making it hard for him to look at what Yako was really looking at.

But that would be strange, wouldn't it? Because she had never once wore eyeglasses.

So he had opted for a different approach. A choker made out of the finest materials that he could find lying inside his room, some of which he never really knew he had. That would be enough. Besides, he thought it was a nice touch on her. A choker. A chain. A collar coiled around her neck. A hoard of jewelry melted together and later slapped on leather to create a cover around the red mark he had given her this morning.

He smirked.  
><em><br>__It suits her. Because she is my slave._

Neuro hummed as he listened in on their conversation. Mundane things. The latest clothes. The trendiest makeup. The latest school gossip―one which involved Neuro and Yako themselves. He shrugged it off. Nothing new.

So he let his mind wander to more interesting things.

Like the fact that he could clearly hear Yako chewing while talking noisily through his earpiece.

The little pig.

He laughed.

It had taken him three days to reconstruct her trinkets into effective spying devices; with an added two days for making Yako's choker. No. He wouldn't use them for disgusting acts such as voyeurism. That would be too revolting for Neuro's refined tastes. There was a reason why he had also put in a tiny button on her choker—it was for her to safely turn off the camera whenever she felt she needed to have her privacy.

He could wait for Yako. He had always waited for her.

And right now, he wanted to smack Yako on her head for sloppily slurping on her eighth bowl of ramen.

He recalled how Yako had been adamant on trying to convince him that she would be just fine―and that was a couple of days ago. But he had never wavered. In the end, she had lent him her accessories―during the time when they were about to go to sleep―and he had wasted no time in tweaking everything to how he wanted them to be.

Neuro smiled and closed his eyes as he listened to Yako's voice.

He was proud of his ability to assemble and disassemble things. And it seemed that he had found it useful and vital for this occasion.

He could hear it again. The soft tinkle of Yako's bracelet. He had replaced the thin and breakable strip of fabric that held the beads together―he didn't know what to call it―with a chain of silver and white gold. It would do much better than the previous "chain". He even customized his own bracelet to match Yako's, down to the last bead that had been carefully embedded with a tracking device.

The camera on Yako's pendant shook and moved, and it indicated that she had stood, judging from the way the sounds of shuffling cloth and clops of shoes against a squeaky chair met his ears.

"I'll be right back, Kanae-_chan_," he heard her say, and Neuro hummed. He knew where she was going, and he was debating with himself whether he should close the laptop for a few minutes or should just let it be.

The sound of Yako's shoes clacked against the tiles, and the sight of Yako's minute hand turning a doorknob was seen through Neuro's screen.

He grinned, leaned on his bed's headboard, and closed his eyes instead.

His phone rang after a few seconds, and, without opening his eyes, he reached for it and answered it. He already knew who it was.

_"Don't look, dummy," _the voice, Yako's, said.

Neuro barked a laugh.

"As if I would look at something as small and as constantly wet as your cu―"  
><em><br>__"Just shut up, you jerk."_

"Heh."

The sound of silence crept through his ears, and his eyes took the tiniest peak between his thick lashes, his curiosity getting the best of him as a smile bloomed on his face.

The camera was focusing on something off-white, and Neuro huffed and uncharacteristically pouted.  
><em><br>__...probably the door._

The sound of shuffling cloth and the familiar clopping of her shoes were heard through Neuro's earpiece, and the sound of a soft grunt and a flushing toilet echoed in the background.

"Finished now?"

Yako only groaned on the other line, and Neuro chuckled.

* * *

><p>Yako took extra time not go back to the table which she and Kanae occupied. Only ten seconds left before she could safely go out in the open.<p>

When her ten seconds was up, she took a deep breath and mustered her brightest smile. Her phone had been safely tucked inside her small purse, and Neuro had stopped pestering her for the time being.  
><em><br>__He sees me now, anyway. In a way, I think._

She opened the restroom door and returned to her table.

The familiar sound of a certain someone's voice echoed not from afar.

It was time.

Yako's shoes clacked on the tiles as she walked towards her table.

Kanae looked livid.

Yako's eyes widened at the sight of a familiar young man sitting on her seat, "Eh? Yukinori-_san_?"

* * *

><p>It was nighttime. Ten minutes past midnight, to be exact. And the Nougami household was silent, save for the small sounds that buzzed from the appliances in his house.<p>

"Well? How did it go?"

"You should have told me that Aomi-_san _was nearby where we ate."

"No need to tell you about the trivial things. So? What happened?"

Yako, who was clad in one of Neuro's black button-down shirts (that was too large for her small stature), stretched her arms upwards and yawned before plopping her tired body on Neuro's bed, her face falling first on the pillows.

She faced him with droopy eyes and a small yawn, "She was shocked, of course. Also, Yukinori-_san _looked too pleased before I left. And you had impeccable timing on calling me."

"Of course," he muttered, and this time, it was Neuro who yawned as he moved his forehead closer to hers. Yako shifted her position so she could breathe properly―sleeping on one's stomach never really made her comfortable―and he inched closer to her still. Her small hand reached for the coverlets at her feet and she covered their cold forms. Neuro hummed at the act, and he slowly wrapped his leg over hers. Yako said nothing as she draped her arm around him, her head cuddled close beneath his chin. It was now a familiar and welcomed act between them―both of them growing too attached to each other to the point that their intimacy should constantly be felt. Both of them had no qualms about it.

"What did Zera do to you?" Neuro asked as he blew a small tuft of Yako's hair away from his nose. His thin lips kissed the top of her head, and a lean arm wrapped around Yako's small form.

"Nothing much. He told me that I'll be staying here for the fourth day in a row, so we hurried to return before it rains. A storm is coming, you know."

"Psh. Don't remind me of storms, dust mite. It's already cold enough as it is."

She laughed, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mister I-Hate-Rains-So-Much. I didn't know I've struck a nerve."

She received a pinch to the nose.

He received a nip to his Adam's apple.

There was a small round of silence, and then―

"Things should go a bit bumpy when Monday comes. I was thinking of recording everything and upload it on the net. It would be like one of your shitty dramas. What do you think?"

"Kanae will kill me if we'd do that."

"Heh. Not putting the honorific on her name again, eh?"

"Ssh!"

* * *

><p>Kanae had been endlessly ranting on how Yukinori had treated her like they were on their first date—all smiles and charm, and Yako could only offer a twitch of her lips. Love advice. It was something that she never really had the time to deal with actual love problems. <em>Does Neuro count as being a problem? ...Nah.<em>

They were in the school gym, and their physical exams have just finished. Yako had just gotten her height measured, and—

_...it's still 159 centimeters._

She pouted, "...Not fair. Even Neuro had his height measured and he's now 180 centimeters tall..."

A pair of arms hoisted her from behind, "Maybe if you increase your daily calcium intake, something might happen about that miniscule height of yours."

Yako sighed as he let those lean arms carry her even higher, until she decided to just sit on his shoulders and rest her hands on Neuro's head—and for some reason, her sitting on his shoulders made her feel somehow powerful. "I am eating food with calcium, you know, but nothing really happens," she said with a small quirk of her lip.

Neuro nibbled on her inner thigh—quite shamelessly, too, Yako observed, and yet she made no comment, opting to bite the smile that was about to bloom on her face instead. He hummed and snorted as he eyed a couple of girls ogling at him, "Hm. Maybe if I stretch you from scalp to toe like some baker's dough—"

"No way!"

"Heh."

Neuro wrapped his hands around Yako's feet as to not make her fall. His eyes scanned the room warily, senses on high alert for any disgusting males that might make a move on—

"Hey, Yako," a voice called, and Kanae piped from behind them. Neuro had to face her fully so her and his little worm could properly talk. And no, he won't put her down just because of some silly girl talk.

Yako, despite the odd looks the students gave her (and Neuro), managed to smile and wave at her. The feeling of being tall for once made her feel elated, "Ah, Kanae-_chan_! What is it?"

"...I just want to say thanks for last week. That's all," and Kanae smiled as she bit her lip, knowing full well that Yako understood what she meant. Neuro merely smiled a small smile that barely reached his eyes. He, too, knew what she meant—

—it was a part of his plan, after all.

* * *

><p>Waking up to a persistent phone call from Kanae was not what Yako was expecting on this nice Saturday morning.<p>

_"Well? Why haven't you told me about this?"_

Yako frowned and blinked the sleep away from her droopy eyelids as she looked at the ceiling of her room. "I don't know what you're talking about," Yako mumbled, her voice still laced with grogginess and sleep. Neuro was facing her, his long arm draped possessively over her torso, his bright, green eyes wide and large and his smile resembled that of the crescent moon as Yako talked on the phone. It seemed that he, too, had been awoken to the shrill ring of her phone. He did not seem to mind it at all, at least.  
><em><br>__"Yako! I'm talking about this! This picture that has been circulating on our school BBS since last night!" _Kanae's yell on the other line was loud, too loud, and it made Neuro frown and grumble, and he buried his face to Yako's neck like an attention-seeking feline, for he could clearly hear Kanae's voice. Dealing with noisy and senseless girl talk in the morning had never been his idea of starting his day.

"Tell her to shut up already," Neuro harshly mumbled to Yako's ear with a hiss of an angry cat, and yet, she ignored him―opting to simply pat his head twice with her left hand as a reply to his demand. She could deal with his tortures later on. Neuro only grumbled.

"What picture?" Yako asked, her voice more awake than it was a few minutes ago. Her eyes glanced at the clock. It was nine in the morning.  
><em><br>__"Open your email! The both of you! He is there with you, right? I'm sure he doesn't know of this! And he won't like it!"_

Yako and Neuro looked at each other, their faces looked skeptical at Kanae's statement. _Something that Neuro wouldn't like?_

He was the first to get out of the bed, his feet ignoring the bite of the cold June air as he went over to Yako's computer and opened it―_like he owned it_.

Yako soon followed, her phone still held close to her ear, "Kanae-_chan_, what on earth do you―"  
><em><br>__"Just look at it!"_

Yako winced at the words, and she hurried over to where Neuro sat. He was too pre-occupied with this "something" that would shock even him.

"Type your password," he said, and she did as she was told.

Clicking on the blinking envelope icon on the screen, Yako's heart quickened its beat―_what is this picture that could_―

The buffering icon appeared, the image loaded, and its pixelated pieces were becoming clearer as the seconds ticked.

The image, all clear and colored in blue, gray and black, seemed to douse both Neuro and Yako in ice cold water.

"...Oh my―"  
><em><br>__"You've seen it?" _Kanae squeaked from the phone, and she could tell that Yako was silently panicking as much as she was.

Yako was speechless. Neuro simply stared at the screen. Kanae shrieked in the background―something about "this being a scandal".

On the screen was a picture of Yako, clad in a low-cut blouse that showed too much of her chest―that was two sizes larger than her real size―smiling at the camera with her arms outstretched, and hugging her from behind was a man, his hands placed firmly on her―

Yako gulped.

The man who was holding her so provocatively from behind―his hands were on her breasts and thighs shamelessly―was not Neuro.

It was someone else who was _not _Neuro.

_That _was the scandal.

Yako's face turned deathly pale.

_A scandal! _Yako screamed in her head.

Dizziness shadowed her vision.

"...um. Kanae-_chan_, I think we―"

Her words were cut short as her phone was snatched from her tiny hand. As much as Yako wanted to complain for his lack of manners, she immediately backed out on lashing out at Neuro as soon as she saw the dark glimmer in his eyes. The look was too familiar to her sight.

"Hello, Yako's friend? Where did you get this from?" and it was Neuro who spoke this time, his voice laced with false glee and optimism as he smiled at the computer screen, his right hand crushing the mouse in his death grip as he did so. Yako gulped once again, and she was sure that Kanae was stuttering on the other line.

She looked at his smiling face as he talked with Kanae, then at his spidery right hand that was suffocating her poor mouse.  
><em><br>__I think I have to buy another one._

"Ah, is that so...?" Neuro muttered, his voice barely heard through Yako's bitty ears.

Neuro was smiling―a barely-there smile. His two fanged teeth gleamed at her caramel gaze. Whirlpools of emerald-onyx orbs were melting into her soul.

He chuckled.

Yako's eyes twitched.  
><em><br>__He's mad! And I mean ultra mad!_

Yako was about to speak out to Neuro about some questions, but―

"Okay. Bye, then," and he hung up. Yako gaped and stomped her feet. "What was that for? Neuro, I know this picture is nothing but a fraud and―" she tried to get her point across, but was cut off as Neuro merely grabbed her head and pulled her close to him, and she could feel his cool peppermint-scented breath on her flushed skin.

"Kitten, prepare yourself for Monday."

"Eh, what do you―"

"Hell is about to rise from its depths."

Yako gulped as she looked into those jade-hued eyes.

_If looks could kill...!_

* * *

><p>This particular Sunday morning left Yako feeling nervous from inside out, and she didn't even know why. She assumed it was because of the scandalous (<em>and fake!<em>) picture of her spreading like wildfire throughout her school bulletin boards. Her caramel eyes glanced at the digital clock sitting on her dresser. It was ten past six.

Turning around, she noticed that Neuro was still asleep, his delicate eyelids and heavy eyelashes concealing the deep green and obsidian eyes that she have came to know for years. He was sleeping on her, draping her in a warm embrace filled with his ever possessiveness―that seemed to reign his subconscious as well. His breath tickled her left cheek and her neck, and she couldn't help but to smile and pat his head and peck him on the nose. Neuro grumbled as he lazily nuzzled her neck―and it was the sweetest greeting that Yako had ever received from him.  
><em><br>__Or maybe it's simply because he's asleep. _

With Yako trying to pry his long limbs away from her body, Neuro groaned and opened his eyes. Yako sat on the bed lazily.

His voice was still laced with sleep as he turned on his back with a yawn, his evergreen eyes looking at her slender form with a small smile, "Piggy, where are you going?"

"Toilet. Why? You coming with me?"

He laughed as he stretched his arms overhead, his body resembling an oversized cat as he grinned at a smiling Yako, "Oh? Why, aren't you the bold little maggot today! You're inviting me to the bathroom? Do you have some certain needs that may require my brutal assistance?"

Yako merely giggled as she skipped to the door, and Neuro immediately noticed that her recent favorite sleepwear―Neuro's Victorian shirt―was hiking higher and higher as she hopped on her bare feet, and he was sure that he caught a glimpse of her thin, cotton-white panties as she opened the door. _Hm? In a very good mood, perhaps?_

"No, Mister Sadistic-and-Possessive," Yako replied with a broad smile as she stepped outside her bedroom. "I don't require your assistance with my―certain needs. No matter how 'brutal' it is as you put it. But I appreciate the thought of you offering help," and with that, she closed the door with a happy hum, leaving a curious Neuro in his wake.

He smiled, and he turned over to where Yako's computer sat, eyeing it with disdain—and he frowned. Last night was something that he hadn't expected. The situation with the―obviously photoshopped―picture was getting out of hand, and he had already turned off his and Yako's phones the moment he had received a call from one of their classmates in the middle of the night; receiving calls from their bothersome classmates had never been his thing of entertaining himself, anyway.

A small hum resonated from Neuro's throat as he eyed his phone on the dresser.

He could always do _something _to prevent this distasteful incident from spreading any further. If word reached the Katsuragi couple about their daughter looking like a tasteless tramp on the school's website―

―oh, the horrible things that Neuro would do to the people who would look at Yako with malicious intent!

A wide and sneaky grin bloomed on his face as he sat up, running a large hand through his mussed up hair as he did so.

Yes. _That _would do. It was the only way he knew.

* * *

><p>Eating lunch with the Katsuragi household had always been strange for Neuro―or maybe it was because he had never really experienced what it was like to eat with a real family until he met Yako―<p>

At least, he was thankful that the atmosphere every meal time in the Katsuragi abode was something that Neuro considered as warm—_unlike in my not-so-near home_. Yako, for one, was doing a―quite unnecessary―show of boldness by eating a jar of chili paste, declaring that it would taste like a bit of spice on her mouth.

The screams that erupted from her the moment she ate a spoonful of it made Neuro laugh.

Oh, yes.

He had grown quite fond of the Katsuragi house.  
><em><br>__A warm place to live in, indeed._

* * *

><p>"Judging from the way they have talked with us earlier, it didn't seem like the news have reached them," Neuro crooned as he played on the small tuft of Yako's hair as he read his school notes. Yako sighed, and gasped as a pair of spidery fingers suddenly probed her mouth. She opted not to reply to his recent observation.<p>

She and Neuro, despite the silence in the air as they read their lessons for tomorrow's quiz―_that darned Tubulik!_―were tense, and it was because of that photo.

Yako gulped as she turned a page of her binder. She was lying on Neuro's lap, with him leaning on the headboard as they both read. She tried hard not to get distracted by those fingers in her mouth, but―

―hearing him groaning like that―

―it was too much for poor Yako.

She sucked on his fingers harder, and Neuro smirked.

"Coming undone?" he asked, and Yako shook her head. He smiled, "Good girl."

Yako wondered if she could ever resist his charms. She blamed his smile―

―_and that voice―! _

She arched her back upon hearing him groan, and she was sure that something was prodding the back of her head.

She gulped as Neuro eyed her with a licentious smile.

_He knows what I'm thinking! Again!_

* * *

><p>Hurried and mumbled whispers flowed and ebbed through Yako's ears, each murmured word a promise of how vile she must have looked through the student body's eyes.<p>

_"Hey! Haven't you heard? The Neuron's kitten is playing with another man!"_

_"Hush! You are not to say such things about Yako-sama!"_

_"But―!" _

Yako buried her face on Neuro's sleeve, silently whining all the while as they walked.

Neuro's jaw was tense as the clopping of his shoes echoed in the hallways, his hand grasped firmly on Yako's―and the whispers hushed. Numerous pairs of eyes looked down and away upon catching the green-eyed man's piercing gaze. When Nougami Neuro gets mad, the students immediately know what to do—and not talking so rudely about Yako while he was around was one way of showing him (and her) some respect.

Sliding the door to their homeroom, both Neuro and Yako were taken aback as they were suddenly surrounded by their overly-curious classmates. Neuro snarled as he moved Yako behind him, and the students immediately gave them room to enter.

Kanae was standing near Yako's desk, her hands crossed over her chest. Her lips were drawn in a thin line as they approached their respective seats. The hush of murmurs blew across Yako's ears once again, and for once, she was grateful for the forceful hold that Neuro had on her.

"Yako―"

"Not now, Kanae," Yako mumbled, her voice hushed, not bothering to add an honorific to her name, and Neuro merely hummed as he sat behind her, his face emotionless.

Kagohara Kanae remained silent as Mutsuki happily strolled over to Neuro's side, handing over a manila envelope to him, and he smiled broadly.

Yako merely blinked upon seeing the unusual exchange. Neuro only widened his grin.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Neuro."<p>

"Hm?"

"What did Mutsuki-_tan _give you this morning?"

"Nothing of importance. Don't get your head spinning by thinking too much. Your cobwebbed brain won't be able to take it."

Yako huffed.

Going to the school library had become a routine ever since they had met Shinobu and Yukinori, that, and the unquenchable thirst for new knowledge had always led Neuro―and an unwilling Yako―there. Today was no exception.

Taking a seat near the fire exit, Neuro grabbed the first book he had touched on the nearby shelf, and his eyes scanned the library. Few students, some sleeping, others chatting with peers, others studying―just like how Neuro liked it. The librarian looked at Yako with an exasperated sigh. His little maggot was eating pork buns in the library again, and the poor librarian couldn't stop her no matter how much she tried. In the end, she let her be―_as long as my little louse won't resort to eating books, then all is well for me_.

The familiar scent of beer tickled Yako's nose as she finished her third pork bun, and she smiled when she peeked from the large shelf behind her, concealed from the eyes of the school librarian.

"Yukinori-_san_. Godai-_san_," she whispered, and the males turned around, as though her presence was expected.

Neuro stood up and lifted Yako off of her feet by entwining an arm around her stomach―she remained still, though―and the book was left forgotten on the table as he and Yako sat near the door.

What the two of them weren't expecting, however, was the presence of one Miyasako Mutsuki sitting close to Yukinori.

"_Nee-chan!_ Neuro-_nii!_"

Yako blinked upon seeing the smiling girl looking very much at ease with Yukinori, "Mutsuki-_tan_? What are you doing here?"

In response, Mutsuki giggled, a quiet tinkle of a laugh that sounded like bells to Yako's ears.

"I'm here to help you and Neuro-_nii_. Yukicchi and I are allies, you see. Hisanori-_jii_ said that _nee-chan _is having a hard time dealing with the leaked picture, so I lent him a hand."

Caramel eyes gazed at whirlpool-dark green ones, and judging by Neuro's ghost of a smile, it meant that he knew what Mutsuki had been up to.  
><em><br>__Wait―_

"Mutsuki-_tan_, what do you mean, 'allies'? You and Yukinori-_san_?" Yako asked with a discreet point of a finger towards the ever smiling girl. Mutsuki nodded.

"Hisanori-_jii _and my grandpa are business partners. They have been for many years. So, naturally, I have contacts within the Hayasaka family, I can have them at my beck and call."

And she said it all with a bright, wide smile. A smile that promised that she, and her friends, were not to be messed with. There was an underlying threat in the way she spoke those words, and it sounded strange coming from the innocent-looking girl in front of them.

Yako's eyes widened at the revelation. _Guess she's someone not to be crossed with―a yandere. That's what she is._

"Miyasako-_san_," quipped Neuro suddenly from beside Yako. She glanced at his quite familiar smile, and intuition told her that Neuro had known that Mutsuki was connected to the Hayasaka brothers in an intimate, family-like way.

_Why am I being kept in the dark about this?_

"Neuro-_nii_? What is it?"

"The files you gave me this morning were all right. But I need more details. Their address, their numbers, mobiles, their mode of transportation when going here, the times when they would leave the school, their parents. I want all of that."

Yukinori laughed, and patted Mutsuki on her head like she was his own little sister. "Demanding as ever, Nougami. But that's what my brother wanted in ya. Tell you what, Godai will do all of that. That's too much work for little Mucchan."

"Hey, what are ya selling me fo―"

"And besides, Godai owes me money."

And Shinobu withered.

Yako, confused by all the things that they were discussing about, decided to pipe in and lightly tugged Neuro's sleeve, "What's this about?" she asked with a blink, and this time, Neuro offered her a wide leer.

"My kitten is my kitten. And no one else's. Some ugly toms are trying to get their paws on her, but there will always be a fence and a forest of thorns to keep them away from her puny little body."

A long period of silence ensued, three pairs of eyes looked at Neuro as he smiled.

"Speaking in poetic metaphors all of a sudden, I see," Yako thought out loud with a puzzled face, and a giggle escaped her glossed lips before she could stop herself. She was rewarded with a painful pinch to her cheek. And all the while, Mutsuki, Shinobu and Yukinori stared at them, fascinated about how they could switch from one mood to another in a matter of seconds.

"You don't want to be compared to a kitten, then? How about I'd demote you back to being a strumpet? _My _strumpet? Would you like that?"

"No, please―and let go of my chee―ow!"

"Ahaha! Look at how stretchable your face is! Like a wad of chewed bubblegum!"

Shinobu watched the animated exchange between the blond and the "stretchable" girl, and he couldn't quite help it, but to think of how intimate and comfortable they are with each other.

* * *

><p>"He's on the move to find out who they are."<p>

"Really, now? I suppose _she _doesn't know anything about it, seeing as the kitten looked quite dazed this afternoon before our PE class."

A laugh, "Are you sure it wasn't because he devoured her again on the roof?"

"Oh, please. Stop it. I'm sure she's still intact. _He _acts different around her―and I know worship when I see it. He's waiting for her, and those kisses he peppered on her face this afternoon after changing our uniforms were proof enough. And how can you be so sure that he devoured he on the roof? We have never been there. That's their unspoken territory."

Silence fell upon them, and the girl with the glossy hair and glittered chest huffed as she tapped her feet.

"I'll make sure you'll get a perfect score for tomorrow, Gakusei-_san_. Thank you for your work."

A soft chuckle erupted from the student's throat, "I'm looking forward to that, Lady 'Genuine'."

* * *

><p>A smile bloomed on Yuuya's face as he tried to counter the attack of an unknown virus trying to hack into his computer system.<p>

Leaning back on his chair, he eyed the screen with fascination, "Eh, I didn't know you could do this. Even so, you wouldn't find anything that could point me as the culprit―"

The lights in his room blinked on and off, on and off, and his computer screen flickered to blackness, mirroring the dark sky outside. Yuuya frowned.

"Probably the―"

The lights blinked, and blacked out completely, and the soothing hum and buzz of his appliances silenced to a halt.

Standing up with a shrug, he looked out of the windows to check how many houses the blackout had caused―

"―Eh? Only me?"

The lights flickered on, and Yuuya hummed as he turned around―

―and the blood drained from his face as he looked at a familiar figure—clad in a thin, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, staring at him with a smile that barely reached his ears—standing by his doorway.

"Nougami. What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p>"Mother, do you know where Neuro went? I just woke up and he's not beside me. I even called Aomi-<em>san<em>. He's not there, either."

Haruka looked from the bowl of soup she was trying to make, and she frowned when she heard her daughter's question. Miwako was beside her, making some broth for the soup―_probably for udon_.

"No, but he did tell me that he'll be out for a few hours. He hasn't come home since seven o'clock―and it's already nine. He didn't leave a note?"

Yako shook her head, and she mirrored her mother's frown.

"Don't worry, honey. I'm sure he's fine. Maybe he's buying books? You know how he is."

Yako forced a smile upon hearing her mother's assumptions. _Mother, I'm always the one who buys his books. But I can't tell you that, can I?_

"I'll be waiting for him in the living room, then," and with that, she fished out a box of pocky from the pantry and went to the living room, grabbing the remote by the television as she did so.

Haruka nodded and smiled.

* * *

><p>Ten pages this chapter. Hm. Close enough. I was aiming for 13 pages, but... Oh well. :P<p> 


	12. Laesio

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: Laesio <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Rating has bumped to M! ...Shiro-Kitsune8 and vampire-fetish15, it has begun! XD

* * *

><p>"―t do you want?"<p>

Yuuya was answered with a deafening silence, save for the disturbingly small smile that Neuro held on his marbled face. His voice was becoming weaker and smaller beneath that piercing gaze. Emerald-onyx eyes regarded his stupefied form coolly, taking a small step towards him as he did so. Yuuya stepped back, and Neuro stopped in his tracks, cocking his head to one side―like a curious bird―as he hummed.

A silent tune echoed from his closed lips―a vibrato―and Neuro's smile widened just a fraction as he glanced at the computer screen behind the slightly quivering Yuuya. Oh, how Neuro loved the _fear_!

"Can't remove the virus?" he asked, his voice quiet and low as he took another step towards the older teen. Yuuya gulped and spared his computer a glance.

"What are you talking about?" he asked back, his black eyes darting once more to the taller male―

_―gone!_

"Hm? I'm quite sure your security system isn't all that great. I bypassed it all without much of a hassle."

Yuuya's eyes widened as he tried to back away from the man―_who seemed to know none of the term 'personal space'_―and yet, Neuro simply eyed him with (sadistic) glee.

A hand reached out to Yuuya's collar, clutching and suffocating him in the taller male's hold, and the eerie tune from Neuro's thin lips was heard in his room once again.

He struggled from his suffocating grasp, yet all seemed to end up in vain, "L-look, Nougami! It wasn't me this time! I didn't even―"

"You don't have the right to utter my name, you filthy scum. How many times do I have to say it to your equally filthy brain? And I know it wasn't you who initiated the leakage of that vile thing. I'm not daft."

"Eh―"

"But I _do _know that you have a hand in creating that said vile thing. What was it that you did again? Oh yes―

"―the uncanny way of altering her bust size, wasn't it?"

Yuuya paled and stopped struggling in his hold, black eyes boring into dark, whirlpool forest green. "How did you―"

"Oh? How did I know?" he asked—amused—and he chuckled as he inched his face dangerously close to his. "Simple! I have pawns!"

"What does tha―"

Neuro waved and flicked a middle finger to Yuuya's nose, grinning at the way the older teen recoiled at the slightest touch, "Tut, tut. Now, now. Don't be too curious, you tick. You know what they say about curiosity! We wouldn't want you to end up like the cat in the saying, would we?"

Yuuya simply stared, unmoving from Neuro's snake-like gaze.

A low hum reverberated through the older teen's ears, Neuro's voice deep and smooth as he smiled and breathed. His eyes glinted in a hidden promise of things that involved the unmentionable as he spoke. "Say that you don't want to end up like the poor cat," he uttered, too low and too slowly for Yuuya to comprehend, and he found himself shutting his eyes closed―the sight of that wide leer and those two fanged teeth were too much for him to take.

"I don't want to end up like the cat...!" he muttered, almost inaudibly―but Neuro heard it all too well.

A pregnant pause was heard after Yuuya begrudgingly uttered those words, and, when he heard no form of response from Neuro―

―he took a risk to take a peek at the young man's intimidating stature.

He was smiling. Smirking!  
><em><br>__Like he's insulting me!_

Yuuya almost growled at the insolence. _Almost._

"Too bad. I want to at least make the cat feel a bit of pain―say, suspend you in the air?" Neuro smiled, his eyes filled with mirth and his voice dripped with falsely-laden innocence as his long and slim fingers coiled around Yuuya's neck―lifting him from the wooden floor of his room.

"I want to tie you up like a hog."

It was said too happily―_too sadistically!_―

―Neuro's arm stretched upwards, higher, higher, and the 17-year-old paled and fumbled his hands on the death grip around his―_utterly fragile!_―neck.

And Higuchi Yuuya screamed.

* * *

><p>"Neuro! Where have you been, you dummy? I've been calling you for the past two hours! It's already eleven o'clock!" Yako shrieked as she leaped up from the sofa and ran towards the front door to greet him, not bothering to mask her worry and relief as she tackled him with her two slim arms and all the force she could muster―the latter didn't budge the slightest, though.<p>

"Missed me already, little sow bug?"

A muffled response was heard, Yako's face buried in his shirt.

"I just bought some food from the convenience store on my way home."

At this, Yako perked up and looked at the two plastic bags in Neuro's left hand. She pursed her lips and held on tighter to his torso, instead.

"Cut the crap," she harshly spat as she eyed him warily, her arms still wrapped around him―and her tone made Neuro raise an eyebrow at her. "Where have you really been after all this time?"

It was then that he realized that she was serious―cold, unwavering brown eyes glared at him—and for some reason, he felt guilty. A quite unfamiliar feeling for the pride-filled young man.

"Looking out for potential predators that may hunt you down," he mumbled almost incoherently. And he averted his gaze from hers, his brows furrowed―scowling, even, Yako observed―as he threaded his right hand tightly on Yako's hair. She bit her inner lip, contemplating about his words; she heaved a sigh and loosened her hold on his person. Surely, there would come a time that that possessiveness of his would bring him his downfall.

"You can tell me about it later if you want. I'm tired," she said with sagging relief laced on her weak voice as she removed herself from him―taking the bags from his hand as she did so―and Neuro could tell that, indeed, she had been worrying sick for him for the past few hours while he was away. He didn't leave a note for her earlier, after all.

Still, he was relieved. It meant that he had a huge effect on her. _Good._ _All the more reason to keep her by my side._

"Are you mad at me?" he cautiously inquired as he followed her to the kitchen―very much like a lost puppy, Yako idly observed―his evergreen eyes never leaving her quite deflated form. Yako merely frowned at the plastic bags as a reply, placing them on the table and removing its contents―teriyaki and nikujaga with several boxes of strawberry pocky and two cans of aloe vera juice―as she then looked at Neuro with a passive gaze. Her hunger had long gone since she had waited for him a few hours ago. Really, here she was thinking of unthinkable things on what might have happened to him and here he was—asking her such a thing like if she was _angry _at him?

He almost gulped at that hardened stare.

_Never _make a woman mad―it was what he had drilled in his head for so long. And seeing Yako staring at him like that―

―it unnerved him.

"You're not answering my question," he muttered, his toes curling beneath his socks under her unwavering stare.

"You could have at least told me where you had gone so I wouldn't have to worry about your whereabouts."

Neuro sighed, his shoulders heaved a deep breath and his jaw relaxed. She was talking to him―_that's a good sign_.

"I thought you told me not to mention it until we're in bed," he uttered dejectedly, his lower lip slightly jutting as he spoke, mock hurt lacing his baritone voice.

Yako turned around and puffed her cheeks and placed the food in the fridge—not bothering to even glance at the delicious treats he had bought for her—as she trudged up the stairs, dragging Neuro with her―by the hand―as she did so.

The Katsuragi household was silent, Neuro observed, and he, too, remained silent as he let his little maggot drag him to who-knows-where.

"The others asleep already?" he idly asked, and he saw Yako merely nodding as she walked on―his hand held on hers―she didn't even glance at him at all.  
><em><br>__Shit. She's mad._

Opening the door and the lights to her bedroom, she entered with Neuro, practically stomping inside as she did so.

She slammed the door shut and abruptly let go of his hand. Her short hair whipped around her cheeks as she faced him―scowling.

"You told me you'll keep me safe. Why can't I do the―"

She was silenced by a large palm hovering near her face.

"Hold it, slug. Before you'd go ballistic on me, I want you to know how much stupid it is for you to worry about me. You shouldn't have worried, you fool."

Yako frowned and crossed her arms as she tapped her socked foot impatiently on her carpeted floor, "Tell me why. _Why _shouldn't I worry for you as much as you worry for me? Th-that's not fair―!"

"And you suppose it's fair if I'd let you get all the burden of worrying? Why, where's the gallantry and chivalry in that? And don't point your finger at me."

Yako lowered her arm as he told her to, and she remained still, her lips drawn in a thin line, eyebrows slightly raised as her breath quickened just a tad.

She looked away from his deep green eyes.  
><em><br>__You might as well say, 'It will hurt my pride as a man'._

"Still..." she weakly countered, and Neuro groaned. He would have none of her fruitless argument no more as he hoisted her on his shoulder―ignoring her silent pleas (as to not wake up her parents sleeping in the room two doors beside hers)―and deposited her on the bed with little effort.

"Don't make me repeat myself," he muttered close to her mouth.

"But I was just―"

"Hush."

She complied wordlessly.

And Neuro sighed in relief. He covered her with his self, blanketing her in his clothed flesh as he weakly smiled.

"Good girl."

Her arms struggled from within his unyielding force, and he lifted himself just the slightest as to free her tiny hands from between them. She laid her fingers on his back, soothing him by rubbing small circles on the fabric of his shirt. They remained that way for some time, both of them silent.

Her idle hands threaded through his blond and black locks, smoothing away the barely tangled tresses in her gentle touch. Neuro hummed in appreciation.

"Does this mean our argument is over?" he mumbled, his eyes closed as he let her fingers thread through his hair. It had a calming effect on him, and he didn't know why.

"I'm still mad at you, you know."

"You mean _mad _mad or not-really-mad-anymore mad?"

Yako laughed, its vibrations sending tickles to Neuro's right ear. It was a pleasing sound―one he won't get get tired of hearing.

"I think I'll choose the latter."

"Good choice, ragdoll."

"Yeah. I figured I'd never be able to stay mad at you for a long time. I blame your hair."

Neuro chortled, and he kissed the tip of her clothed right breast, "Why my hair?"

"It's soft. I like it."

"Heh."

She closed her eyes and cuddled him close, smiling softly as she did so.

"If we're both going to sleep, one of us should at least turn off the light."

"But the switch is by the door. And you're on top of me. You're heavy."

"But you're my slave, piggy. Hurry up and turn it off."

"I can't move, Neuro."

"Heh. And that's my problem, how?"

"Ugh. Neurooo―"

A tiny sound of something tapping on the wooden door hushed by the doorway outside, and Neuro stiffened. He immediately rolled off of Yako―leaving her puzzled.

"Neuro, why are yo―"

The door to her bedroom slowly opened with a tiny creak, and Haruka entered the room with a smile.

Yako's eyes briefly shifted to Neuro's―_so you heard her footfalls_.

"Oh! Neuro, good evening! I see you've returned! Yako has been worrying about you, you know. I just checked the living room to see if Yako's there, you see. I though she must have slept on the couch," she piped bashfully as she tapped her palm on her cheek, and her smile widened when she saw her daughter lying at least a meter apart from the young man.

"But seeing as you've returned, I can now sleep well―Neuro dear, don't make my little girl worry now, okay?" she chirped, and the teenagers couldn't shake away the feeling that there was an underlying threat somewhere in that statement. Neuro chose to stiffly nod and quirked his lips instead.

Yako's eye almost twitched at her mother's words, "Mother, please don't scare him."

Haruka simply smiled and cocked her head to one side.

* * *

><p>"―and then I found him suspended on the ceiling fan! It was scary!"<p>

Yukinori yawned.

It was something to be irritated about―hearing his Kanae getting all worked up for seeing Yuuya almost mentally-scarred. Seeing him this morning hanging by the rotating ceiling fan must have shocked her. _But, oh well. Serves him right, I guess Nougami outdid himself this time. Must have blown off some steam on that glasses kid._

"Tell me again why you were at his house at seven o'clock?"

Kanae breathed a sigh as she inhaled the fresh air. Now that she was standing with Yukinori on the school roof―leaning over the rails so they could see the school grounds below―she could finally see why Neuro and Yako have made this specific place as their little haven. It provided them a nice view of the sky, the way that the clouds would change should they give signs that a storm would come (_"Neuro always hated rains and storms, you see, and he wouldn't tell me why"_), silence, privacy―

_―and intimacy, I think._

She forced images of her best friend and her unofficial boyfriend (as Kanae now assumed) kissing on the exact same spot where they were now standi―

"Kanae. My question, if you please."

"Hm? Oh yeah. Sorry. Um, what was your question again?"

This time, it was the younger Hayasaka who sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, averting her lost stare for a moment. He was not known for patience.

"What were you doing―"

"―at Hi-_kun_'s house this morning. Right. Okay, I got it."

Yukinori fought the urge not to groan in frustration.

_...The nerve of this girl―!_

"I delivered his lunch this morning, you see," she silently mumbled as she twiddled her fingers, her head bowed as she spoke.

At this, he raised an eyebrow, a frown now marring his too-pale of a face.

"...You brought him his lunch for the day."

She meekly nodded, head still bowed and lips clamped shut. Yukinori slapped a palm to his face in exasperation. She heard him curse under his breath. Kanae winced.

"Here I am coming to almost prostrate myself in front of you―anything just to get you back―and here you are―"

He grabbed her by her shoulders and she unwillingly looked into his eyes.

"What must I do to have you back, Kanae!"

* * *

><p>At the other side of the door, Yako and Shinobu had their ears perched closely to the conversation taking place, both too immersed in the unfolding drama on the other side―Neuro simply watched both of them with a blank smile, opting whether to kick them both on the heads or to throw them to the door... just for his amusement.<p>

"Shall I smack your ass again as punishment for eavesdropping―"

Yako's eyes twitched, her palms still resting on the metal door as she glanced at Neuro with an unspoken warning, "Shut up, Neuro―mmphf―!"

"Hmm. Cranberry-flavored lips. I like it."

"Geh. Why won't you two get a room already?" Shinobu harshly whispered, his ears still perched on the closed door.

At this, Yako blanched and tried to scamper away from Neuro's possessive hold. Neuro grinned as he idly licked the faint taste of cranberry lip balm from his bottom lip, "I'm afraid our 'room' is currently occupied by your boss and his girlfriend. We can't just barge in. Unless you'd rather make this area our 'haven' and make you the unfortunate audienc―"

Shinobu groaned, "Just shut up, monster."

"Heh."

* * *

><p>Things have turned ugly by the time that Neuro had found out that there were five other students who had taken part in the desecration of his little ragdoll's dignity. Yako had been pestered continuously by both the students in their homeroom and by one of the upperclassmen. Neuro had been bottling up his anger—until the time that someone (an upperclassman who came to their homeroom) made a pass at Yako—that, and added the fact that someone had been trying to take a picture of Yako from the hallways made Neuro's blood boil.<p>

Word had circulated throughout the whole school by Wednesday, and Yako had been disturbingly quiet about the whole ordeal. Kanae had opted to pry into the heart of the matter, but Neuro had been adamant that they were handling the situation well and―

―thanks to one tiny slip-up from Jennifer, who had tried to talk as quietly as she could to Jody in the class after their short quiz―

―Neuro had then seen red, a small smile had been on his face since then.

"Mutsuki-_tan_! Have you seen Neuro? I can't find him anywhere!"

Mutsuki, who had been with Shinobu in the library, blinked as soon as she heard Yako barging in through the library doors with panting breath―obviously exhausted from running, from the invasive students and from searching for Neuro.

"I haven't seen Neuro-_nii _since PE this early afternoon. He was with the players the last time I saw him."

"Players?"

"The basketball club, missy," piped Shinobu with a frown. His legs were propped on the table, the soles of his shoes faced the disappointed librarian's direction. "I'd say it looked like the monster has shown his true nature the moment he saw the ol' point guard on the track field after he dropped ya by the changing room. I had seen it after I took a stick near the gym―the devil had awoken from his slumber. That glare said it all."

Yako paled.

"He told me he was going to the faculty to ask for some notes for this week's English class."

Shinobu shrugged, "I bet he wasn't telling ya the truth because―"

"Neuro-_nii_ was looking out for _nee-chan_."

* * *

><p>The strained cries of a man, a young man, echoed in the eerily silent school gym. A pair of feet donned in white shoes and black socks squeaked on the shiny floors that housed the shrieking and writhing young man. The air smelled of stale sweat and floor wax and cologne mixed together—a heady scent, one which anyone would cringe upon smelling it. The lights were dimmed―three fluorescent lights shone on a sole figure that stood in the room. A lone basketball was isolated from the cart filled with the other orange balls, its body aimlessly rolled to a dark corner of the room.<p>

The wide, green doors of the gym were locked from the inside. Grayed rags were slipped from beneath the gaps of the doors. Long strips of duct tape were plastered in between the small nooks of the already barricaded paths, blocking away all source of light from the outside. The sounds within the gymnasium could be counted―the silent buzz of the lights, the ear-cringing squeaking of a pair of shoe-clad feet on the newly-cleaned floors, the low hum from a smiling blond man kneeling over five young men (of which one of them was already unconscious)―

―the distinctive sound of their soundless, heaving pleas and erratic breathing was music to the smiling man's ears.

"Had enough?" the smiling man, Neuro, asked.

"N-no mor―"

"Ahha! Did you say something, Mister Captain Ball? I could swear I already tortured you enough. Your position in the team now seems to fit quite well in the situation at hand, huh?"

Neuro was answered with a muffled groan.

"Oh? You want more?"

"N-Nouga―gyaaah!"

The echoes of a piercing scream combined with the buzz and drone of a taser gun―which had been shamelessly kissing the screaming student's crotch for the past hour―resonated from the cold walls of the gym.

Croaked and broken cries reached Neuro's ears, and his smile widened, his two fanged teeth gleamed at the five, hogtied men huddling on the floor―_like the earthworms beneath the soil!_―

"Too bad that was the last strike for you, Captain Balls-y. One more jolt of electricity to your tiny man-pride will kill you. And as much as the thought of it makes me smile alone, I can't kill you―yet. We're all minors here. And I still have a contract to fulfill with my little kitten. I wouldn't want to turn back on my word!"

Neuro's slim hand reached out to the captain ball's forehead, then passed him by as his hand then grabbed the fallen point guard's own hand―all rope-bound and gray and blue from the lack of blood circulation―

"This little finger is so bendable. So small and fragile."

The point guard struggled to choke out a coherent reply through the pain seeping from within his rope-burnt wrists. Neuro heard nothing―ignorance was to be dealt with at this moment. His smile faltered just a fraction.

"Did you know I like small things? It's because I was born in a large house, you see―a mansion, if you would call it," he uttered cheerfully, tapping the little finger with the edge of the taser. "That house was cold. Everything was large and gaudy and too opulent. Nothing had warmth in that place. Nothing but ice cold things. I hated it―it stung my skin and gave me unnecessary illnesses."

The point guard and the rest of the basketball team gulped. The distant look on Neuro's eyes was something that they have never seen before.

"_I _myself am―or was, I think―cold. Then I met my little ragdoll. She was so small then. All clumsy and gullible. Heh. Until now she's so teeny and clumsy and gullible. Like the miniscule kitten that she is."

A small smile formed on his lips, his eyebrows rose higher on his forehead as he looked at the whimpering man in front of him. Neuro chuckled, and his voice morphed into that of his all-familiar false cheer, "Innit she so cute? It's because of her that I became to be so fond of tiny things. I dunno why. Heh. I guess that pus-faced _okama _was right all along. I _am _not what I used to be."

The little finger that was in Neuro's too gentle hold was perspiring and shaking―

"I am currently thinking of breaking this sweaty little thing. It might be of little use to you anyway."

The sickening echoes of a bone being snapped in two, followed by an agonizing scream, made the other three men in the room beg for their lives.

Neuro sung a lilting tune as he let go of the disturbingly-bent and now useless appendage, a tune that made the shaking men's skins crawl with fear. A deranged being―that's what they thought he was.

He tapped his index finger upon his chin. His glossed, whirlpool dark green eyes gazed gleefully on the deathly pale faces of the basketball team members, "Humiliating me through her. Damaging my property's dignity of which only _I _could shred. Consorting with one of the school staff. Consorting with several students and a teacher. Trying to force me into a school club that I don't have any ounce of interest in by goading me into temptations of the flesh―you failed to convince me, by the way. Trying to brazenly coax Katsuragi Yako into cheerleading the other day―in front of me, no less! I bet it was for the sole purpose of making her wear those skimpy and outrageous outfits, eh? Oh, and that unconscious guy over there tried to catch me and Katsuragi Yako off-guard by throwing a soccer ball at us during PE class in the field this afternoon."

He cackled, loud and booming as he leered at the looks on their faces, "My, my! I should punish you with a chain whip for all the inconveniences that you caused us!"

Neuro stood and pointed his slender middle finger to the unconscious student, "Too bad he couldn't survive the jolts! It would have been better! And to think that he's a power forward, too! Hah!"

His cell phone rang in the silent room, and he frowned upon seeing the name of the caller on the screen. Grumbling a curse under his breath, he answered it, and for the briefest moment, the distant look from his dark green eyes ebbed away.

"Yako."

* * *

><p>"Neuro! Where are you right now, you dummy? …What do you mean 'not right now'? You're not beating some poor, innocent man, are you? Neuro, don't kill anyone under my watch! …Don't 'eheh' at me! …Neuro? Neuro! …He hung up on me! That stupid demon!"<p>

Mutsuki giggled at Yako's quite fussy behavior. It wasn't like her to get all worried about him to such an extent. Or maybe she was seeing a new side of her _nee-chan_?

"Leave the guy alone, missy. Maybe he gotsa matters to attend to. Ya know how he is. 'Sides, I bet 'twas about the whole leaked fake picture thing. Tch. Wouldn't blame him, though. If I were in the same place as him, I'd do the exact same thing that he's doing righ' now. Whatever that is," grumbled Shinobu with a shrug. Crushing a cigarette with his sullied white shoe, he huffed as he glared at the cloudless sky, his arms leaning on the cold metal railings. Mutsuki laughed as she took her last sip of her milk tea.

Yako huffed as she angrily stuffed her phone back in her pocket and stomped her foot, her cheeks puffed up and pink from frustration. Her brows furrowed as she glared at the bleach-haired man.

"He is _not _going to ruin his life for me! He might get expelled if he beat up someone in the upperclassmen area! When he's mad, no one has ever been spared!"

Shinobu and Mutsuki exchanged a wide-eyed and wary glance.

* * *

><p>"My little pet just called me. I guess I should leave now. I'm pretty much sure you filthy lowlifes can't walk straight, anyway, let alone crawl your limbs out of that rope," he smiled and turned his back on them.<p>

"Wait! Nougam―"

"One more word from you and that manhood of yours will forever be roasted."

As if cued, he pressed the button that lets the electric current run loose from in between the tiny, silver-hued rods. The sight of the blue sparks made Neuro smile and the basketball team shiver.

Neuro heard the distinctive groan and gasp from behind. He huffed and he walked away, the soft squeaks of his shoes against the floors served as an ominous music to the students' ears.

* * *

><p>A few days passed, and Yako was still tight-lipped about the whole picture-fiasco. With the help of the Hayasaka brothers and Miyasako Mutsuki―<em>"We'll clean up what they started, nee-chan!"<em>―the issue was somehow contained.

Not for Neuro, though.

"I wonder if slicing off their electrocuted male organs and feeding them to the dogs would fill my anger... Nah."

Yako chuckled and laid on top of the still irate male, noticing that Neuro had been tense the whole day. It should be the other way around―Yako should be the one with the burning anger. Instead, he was taking it all; all the feelings she should be feeling. Anger on being humiliated to all in the most scandalous manner.

She heaved a heavy sigh and buried her face on his shirt. It was nighttime, and she was in Neuro's room―a rare occurrence that she was in his abode. Her parents and Miwako were away, all working, and won't be back for three days. It left her no option but to go to Neuro's house the moment that Haruka left her a fridge full of her cooking. Miwako's food had been devoured quickly, but the staggering amount of her mother's food was enough to make her lose her appetite. It was a good thing Zera knew how to make food―edible food.

Too bad Neuro's food supply for the month had been lowered in half the moment Yako ate her dinner.

"You hungry again?" Neuro asked, quite amused at the way Yako was rubbing her face on his shirt. It tickled him. Yako stopped her actions and looked at him, then shook her head and resumed her previous ministrations. He laughed as he laid his arms on her shoulder and on the small of her back, liking the way her clothed skin seeped warmth to his palms and fingers.

"Do you like that scent that much?"

Without looking at him, she nodded, and clamped a bit of the fabric of his shirt between her lips, groaning as she playfully tried t chew it off of him.

Neuro fought his urge not to pounce on her there and then.

"Hm. You're getting quite bold," he mumbled, smiling as Yako released his now rumpled shirt and moved close to his neck, nipping at the skin exposed there. His right hand moved to her slightly raised buttocks and spanked her―the sound of her skin meeting with his palm resounding loudly through the walls of his room. She inadvertently gasped, and instead of stopping like he thought she would, she moved to his ear and nipped his lobe. He hummed.

Thank goodness for the moonlight illuminating his room. In its faint glow, he could easily make out the frame of her body―each swell and slope of her curved flesh on his. Not to mention, he had chosen the thinnest shirt he had for her―just to make her feel the cold, and she would inevitably curl up to him in the dead of the night, just as he knew she would.

His hand remained on the swell of her rump, shamelessly squeezing it, making each cheek turning flushed and pink and sensitive to the touch; and he closed his eyes as she peppered his neck with little bites.

"_Very_ bold," he whispered as he tilted his head in a way that would grant her more access to his skin, and in response, Yako raised her behind higher, her lips and teeth still too busy leaving marks on his neck. The action didn't go unnoticed, and Neuro, in retaliation to her acts of affection, raised his left knee―spanking her again in the process.

At the back of his mind, he made a note to pour in a liberal amount of his cologne on all of his clothes in the future—_if this is the way that she would always react to that scent, then by all means, I'm going to shower everything I own in it. _

Yako stopped nipping his neck and looked at him quizzically. He noticed that her bright caramel eyes were glossed in the moonlight. Too deep, too enticing for him. It was the first time he had seen it―

―Yako's come hither look.

It was different than the one she had given him when they were on the school roof kissing in front of Kanae. He dismissed the thought quickly. Yako was always in a daze whenever she would rouse from her sleep―that licentious look didn't count. _This _look, on the other hand...

...it was sending signals to Neuro's primal instinct to tackle her right now and make her scream to the heavens in ecstasy.

His left hand clutched onto the thin fabric of her (his) black t-shirt, and noted with attentive interest that she was not wearing her usual thin bra.

Since when had she stopped wearing it at night? Oh, yes―

―since the night he had explored her body.

He smirked.

He remembered how his little maggot had flushed and writhed beneath him on the day they had played that risqué game of his—_"I touch with my little hand, something that starts with a 'B.' And please don't try to block my hand, kitten; we're trying to have some fun here."_—she had done nothing but to stifle her mewls with the help of his fingers shoved inside her mouth. Judging from the current expression on Yako's face (_her composure is crumbling_), he might also do the same this time just to keep her quiet, seeing as Neuro's caretaker was sleeping just a floor below them.

Without saying anything else, Yako silently spread her legs in between his raised thigh, her mouth slightly open, just enough for him to see a dart of her tongue. Her hands clutched fiercely onto his wrinkled shirt. Neuro's gaze darkened, his eyelids hooded as she rubbed herself on him wantonly, moaning as she did so.  
><em><br>__Tempting me, are we?_

He clamped his teeth onto her neck, biting down as hard as he could—and Yako let out a strangled cry, signaling Neuro that he was being too rough on her. He stopped, and licked the area he had just bitten, his lips smiling in glee when he could faintly see her skin turning a dull shade of blue and black.

Her pace quickened, rubbing her clothed crotch onto his slowly dampening thigh, and Neuro could hear her breath becoming shallower as seconds passed. He wiped a bead of sweat forming on her brow with his thumb, watching her appreciatively with his almost-luminous green eyes. He smiled as she closed her eyes shut and opened her mouth wider.

He kissed her, swallowing her gasps as he did so. His mind remained intact despite the heated mood they were in—as he should, if he wanted to marry her at the right moment.

The buttons of his shirt were coming off, and he barely noticed that Yako's fingers were ripping out the poor buttons out of their threads. He shrugged as he kissed her still—he didn't mind it much. He could always buy another one.

_"Neuro..."_

He was now rubbing his crotch on her thigh, his hands grasped onto her hair and back—  
><em><br>__"You don't know what you're doing to me, Yako."_

She breathed and nipped on his lip, smiling, "Oh, I think I know what I'm doing to you."

He returned her smile and played with her tongue with his own, "Heh. You're getting more brazen by the second. You little minx."

A smile and a hiss was her reply as she scratched his now exposed torso with her newly-trimmed nails, making Neuro's smile widen. His skin prickled at her touch.

"You're going to pay that, you know."

She kissed his cheek instead, their rhythm getting coarse as they tried to reach their climax.

"What I wouldn't do to just screw you senseless right now instead of doing this," he hissed, and he did not fail to see Yako's smile as he tipped his head back, panting.

"We have to wait," she whispered breathlessly, and for a moment, she realized that she had acted upon her impulses and instincts and had dragged Neuro down with her.

She had broken through his armor, and for some reason, it made her feel dominant―powerful, even. To be able to pierce through Nougami Neuro's walls of ethics was something that she didn't know she could do.  
><em><br>__Eve personified._

His skin felt warm on her fingertips as they kissed hotly. His hands roamed on her back, pushing the thin shirt she wore higher and higher, exposing her in the night.

That growing bulge she had been feeling between her thigh was making her head spin.

Not good.

He struggled out of his ruined shirt and tossed it to the floor, not breaking their locked mouths as he did so. He flipped her on her back and she spontaneously wrapped her legs around him. His nails scratched her back, and she arched and moaned.

It occurred to Neuro that the only wardrobe she had on right now was his shirt, and her thin (and moist) cotton panties.

It was going to be hard to try and reign in his control.

His hands roamed on her flesh, kneading her quite warm buttocks and her soft breasts, all the while continuing to rub his clothed erection on her clothed and moist underwear.

Her hands reached out to touch that ever growing bulge, to try what it feels like on her small palm and fingertips, but he stopped her.

"Don't."

She whined, and wrapped her arms around his neck instead. Yako knew why he was stopping her, and it seemed that her touch was enough to make him go wild―  
><em><br>__―he'll lose his control if I touch him there._

She could feel his tongue lapping on her shoulder, pushing away her crumpled shirt in the process. The fabric stretched, and―

―and she could feel his hand touching her _there _and—

"Neuro...! Not fair...!" she protested and whined, yet even so, she arched and grinded her hips to his touch, wanting more of his skilled fingers on her clothed orifice.

He only smiled as he rubbed her, slowly at first―her personal lubricant was working quite well on his fingers, and he was becoming quite tempted. Rip off her panties and get it over with, the devil inside his mind seemed to scream. He paid it no heed.

"You like it?" he breathed, and he grinned when Yako tried to garble out a coherent reply, which ended up with her gasping for air and releasing her hold on his hair. She clasped onto the pillows beneath her head when he quickened his pace.

He rubbed harder, and he could feel her becoming warmer and wetter beneath his arduous touch. She was panting now, and her hips started to buck fervently to his fingers, her toes started to curl and her breathing became labored.

His middle finger prodded at what he assumed was her venus mound, and she furiously met up with his fingertips, her hands still clutching onto the feather down pillows with all her might (as to not accidentally rip out his hair), trying hard to close her legs—but Neuro wouldn't let her.

"N-Neur―"

"They say that a climax feels better for a woman if her legs are wide open," he whispered to her reddened lips with a smirk. He could feel her breath mingling with his. Her caramel eyes were in a state of daze, he observed closely―and he couldn't quite tell if she had registered what he had just said.

Neuro dismissed the thought completely the moment he saw Yako spread her legs wider and bucked her hips faster, her face becoming redder as she grabbed onto the headboard with heaving gasps. She closed her eyes shut and tilted her head back.

He licked his lips as he looked at her aroused form, his eyes never leaving the rising and falling breasts resting on her ribcage.  
><em><br>__Oh, my obedient little slave! _

She was becoming wetter and wetter, the sound of his fingers upon her clothed vulva were becoming more and more lewd and slicked―its obscene sound echoed in their ears.  
><em><br>__"More..." _

And without hesitation, Neuro lowered his head to her crotch, licking her damp panties with one languid stroke, making Yako snap her eyes to what he was doing and―

―he looked and grinned at her as he sucked on the damp fabric of her undies and―

―the sight alone made her come.

Drinking in her essence, forcing her legs open as to make her orgasm more intense, slapping and languidly scratching her slicked thigh, hearing her cry out his name, seeing her come undone in front of him, knowing that it was him and him alone who made Katsuragi Yako climax with raw pleasure―it was too much for Neuro to bear as he, too, came with a silent groan.

Minutes seemed to pass. Neuro remained on his position near her crotch, licking the remnants of her sweat mixed with her come dripping through her soaked underwear, and his composure crumbled just the slightest―he partly blamed his raging curiosity―as his middle finger moved one side of her panties, just enough to reveal the still swelling lump of her vulva. He tasted it, and noted with fascination that her little cherry twitched beneath his tongue.

"Hm. No hair, huh."

Yako, having collected a bit of coherence in her thoughts, opted to breathlessly giggle at his observation. It was a good thing that she shaved just before she went to bed with him, and as much as it embarrassed her to tell him something that he might take as offensive, something urged her to just spit out a bit of information about her hygiene and―

"Mother told me at a young age that I should um... shave... you see... Because she told me it was a hygienic thing for me to do and... uh. Yeah. I picked up the habit after that."

He was stroking her inner thigh with his fingertips and lips, humming in response to her explanation. He chuckled, "I take it you started doing that when we were about ten or twelve? Puberty starts at that age."

She meekly nodded as her hand moved to stroke his hair, feeling awkward at the direction their conversation was heading, "About ten or eleven, I think. Um. Why are we talking about this?"

"I just wanted to see you squirm."

She huffed, "Thank you for bringing down my good mood."

"Oh, but I didn't. Shall I make it up to you by spanking you again? You seemed to like it earlier. Quite fervently, too, if I recall correctly. Oh, and please do tell your mother she did a fine thing on telling you that. Saves us unnecessary awkwardness if I _do_ lick you directly in the future."

She only slapped his bottom with her foot as a response, blushing madly at his words.

He kissed her belly as a reply.

* * *

><p>Yako groggily woke up on a fine Saturday morning with an aching body and a blanket-covered, half-naked Neuro draped over her like a starfish―<p>

_―and I left my shirt hoisted up the whole night beneath him... ugh._

She sighed, and looked at Neuro's sleeping face. His features were a painting of calm. His eyelashes had always been long and thick, his nose resembled that of a Greek's, and his chin-length hair framed his strong jaw quite perfectly, enveloping his face with an almost deceiving angelic glow. His skin shone almost white from the sunrays that peeked through the tiny gaps of the window curtains. He was sleeping too soundly, and Yako felt bad for thinking of moving him over to one side―

―but she really needed to breathe.

Her fingers wound to his slightly tousled locks, admiring how soft it felt to her touch. She idly noted that his face was cradled directly on her exposed breasts; she swallowed a gulp and tried not to breathe too much.

Neuro moved slightly, and for a moment, Yako thought he would wake up, but he didn't. Unconsciously rubbing his face deeper to her bare chest, he mumbled something that made Yako's heart wrench.  
><em><br>__"Warm... Yako..."_

She bit her lip.

She had always wondered why Neuro liked warm things. He hated the sight and scent and sound of the rain―the same goes for snow and anything cold. Yako liked warm and cool things―the scent of the rain, the feel of the sun on her face―and yet, she could never understand why he seemed to have a loathing for all things cold. Heck, there even came a time when he almost threw a glass of softdrinks on the poor waiter at a restaurant because he had put in half a dozen of ice cubes on his drink!

She suppressed a giggle, and she eyed the air conditioner from the corner of his room with a small smile.  
><em><br>__That air conditioner of his seems to be just for show._

Looking back at the sleeping male above her, she kissed the top of his head, embracing him in her arms as she hummed, as though it would soothe his troubled mind. There was a part of Neuro's mind that Yako couldn't reach, and she aimed to heal that wounded heart.

He had never told her anything about his life as a child, before he met her; and he had never told her anything about his parents―surely, there must be something wrong with that, right?

...right.

But she had long decided that she would not pry if the opportunity wouldn't knock. She would patiently wait for him to open up.

She sighed, and she could feel Neuro stirring in his sleep, grumbling about pained necks as he curled his toes and stretched his arms, his body still blanketing her as he did so.

She was greeted by a pair of twinkling, vortex green eyes and a fanged smile that reached his ears. Yako beamed in response. _He woke up in a good mood, it seems._

"Good morning, piggy."

"Good morning, puppy."

Neuro scoffed, his lips quirked upwards at the name, "Puppy?"

"You're like a lost puppy. Always following me around."

"Oh? Really, now?"

"Yup! You're my lost little puppy!"

He bit her forehead with a grin. She merely whined.

* * *

><p>The Nougami dining room looked as pristine as the one who owned it. White walls dashed with sky blues illuminated the room. A large, rectangular table fit for six sat in the middle, complete with intricately designed and sheepskin-cushioned chairs. A beige-hued carpet lined the floors―quite soft to the touch, Yako mentally added, as she nudged her bare toes on its surface.<br>_  
><em>_It feels warm._

"Would you like some salmon roe with that?" Zera asked as (s)he finished eating (her) his share. It was rare that the dining room was used. The owner of the house, during the rare times when he would be at home and not sleeping over at the Katsuragi household, would rather eat in the privacy of his own room than to sit at the dining table. This was the first time that someone (other than Zera) occupied one of the seats of the dining room.

It made the caretaker feel less lonely.

"Yes, please!"

Zera handed Yako the plate filled with salmon roe, and smiled when (s)he saw her devouring its contents in a heartbeat.

Remembering her manners, Yako gulped and took a swish of her tea, broadly grinning at Zera as she savored the taste in her mouth.

"Aomi-_san _cooks really well! No wonder why Neuro hired you!"

In response, (s)he smiled a tight-lipped smile at the girl, "Well, that's somehow correct and yet it's wrong. It's his family who hired me, you see."

At this, Yako stopped fiddling with her almost empty plate, and looked at Zera with wide, caramel eyes, "Oh... So, I guess it's safe to say that his family's the one who gives you your salary?"

The caretaker's smile faltered just a fraction and (s)he looked away, towards the staircase that would lead to Neuro's bedroom―_he's taking his time on showering this morning, I see_―and Yako could tell that he became uncomfortable. Her lips pursed.

"No," he mumbled, and his black eyes met Yako's, pondering about the things that he should say to this girl. He rattled his brain for the proper things to utter, "His family had never really given me my salary since we left from that place―and that was about twelve years ago. Neuro-_sama _had always been adamant that he would cut off all ties that he had with his parents. It's really a taboo subject, you see. He... He wouldn't like it if he finds out we're talking about them behind his back."

Yako hummed and nodded, her hazel eyes flitting to the left as she bit her inner cheek. _So he has issues with his parents._

Silence crept to the table, and Zera, sensing that the topic had came to an abrupt end, sighed and smiled as he stood up, his voice croaking just the slightest as he took the empty plates towards the sink. "Neuro-_sama _is a kind man, despite what he appears to be. He's just... not used to being left alone. I'm sure the mistress knows what I'm talking about―he has always been with you."

Yako's hand grazed along her clothed neck―the orange turtleneck shirt she chose to wear proved to be useful at times like these (_he left a huge mark on me again_)―and smiled fondly at the Nougami caretaker. Her voice was soft as she spoke, "Yes. I can see that quite well. He does remind me of a lost puppy at times. He's always keen about me being with him at all costs." She laughed dryly, and her smile widened just a tad at a distant memory of meeting him for the first time, "His possessive streak probably stemmed from him having to grow up alone without his parents. I can see that he needed someone who would stand as a constant to him. He's probably afraid that he would be left alone if I weren't with him―my poor little closet softie."

Zera chuckled at the pet name she had given his master, "I'm not sure he'd like the idea of you calling him that."

"Yeah, I don't think he'll let me off the hook for a month. But I did call him a puppy this morning. Haha!"

"Eh? And what did he do?"

"He bit my forehead." _And my neck―after I called him a closet masochist._

Zera guffawed, "That's my master, alright!"

Yako giggled and grinned as she stole a glance from the doorway.

From near the staircase, hidden by the shadows of a bonsai tree, a freshly-showered and barefooted Neuro―donned in a crisp, button-down white shirt and loose, white washed jeans―leaned against a cool blue wall, his head slightly bowed, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he smiled fondly.

* * *

><p>"Neurooo―why won't you tell me?"<p>

"I'll only waste my breath."

"But I really want to know who did it! It's my right, you know! I was the one in that picture―"

"It _wasn't _you in that picture. Now stop it."

Yako pouted as they walked towards the school gates. Having to know that Neuro had indeed tortured Yako's perpetrators―she just didn't know _how _he did it, but her gut instinct told her he tortured them in a way that would leave them scarred for their whole lives―she had tried making Neuro talk, but to no avail. In the end, it only made her feel a bit depressed.

"It wasn't my body in that picture, but that was definitely my face. I feel like I need the earth to swallow me now," she grumbled dejectedly, clutching onto Neuro's sleeve and burying her head on it as they walked.

Neuro glanced at Yako from the corner of his eye and suppressed a groan. _This scene has been happening a lot lately._

He ignored her words, opting to rather rub his thumb on the back of her hand in a quiet form of comfort. He heard her sigh and burrowed her head deeper to his sleeve. The issue with the leaked picture had slowly died out as days passed by, thanks to the Hayasaka brothers and Shinobu. He idly wondered how they dealt with the basketball team. _Probably kicked them out._

Neuro wryly smiled as he eyed his still whining maggot clinging onto him like a baby koala. _I wonder if I'd suddenly let her go. Would she trip on her clumsy feet?_

He was deciding to do just that, but a certain someone caught his attention by the small crowd gathered near the school entrance.

"Ah, Miyasako-_san_! Good morning!" Neuro chirped as he waved enthusiastically with his right hand, as his left was currently occupied by a silently whimpering Yako. A few students looked at the odd couple with disdain; Neuro met their curious eyes, and they scampered away, mumbling hurried apologies in their wake.

No one messed with Yako while Neuro was around.

Mutsuki hopped over to the tall blond with a huge smile, then to the still whimpering girl burrowing her head on Neuro's sleeve.

"Good morning, Neuro-_nii_, _nee-chan_!" she happily quipped, opting to somehow peer through the tiny gaps of the tall male's sleeve―it was obscuring her vision of Yako's face.

Mutsuki heard a barely whispered greeting, though Yako's head remained buried on that poor and now wrinkled sleeve. She looked up and smiled to Neuro instead, as though she already knew what was bothering Yako.

"It has been done, Neuro-_nii_," she said, in a tone that was quite mellower than a few minutes ago. Neuro grinned in response, his pearly white teeth gleaming in the sun, and it was only then when Yako meekly looked up from Neuro's sleeve. She still did not let go of his arm, though.

"What has been done, Mutsuki-_tan_?" she asked, blinking her wide, brown eyes at the broadly smiling girl.

Mutsuki's beam widened even more, her child-like aura emanating through her smile, "You'll see, _nee-chan_. No one will cross you ever again."

Yako cocked her head to one side, then looked at an equally beaming Neuro. She was puzzled by her statement―

"Yo, Nougami! Katsuragi!"

The aforementioned duo directed their attention at the sound of the voice. It was Yukinori, waving madly as he ran towards them, leaving behind a crowd of students bowing towards him as he passed them by. A grin that somehow resembled Mutsuki and Neuro's was the first thing that Yako noticed.

"Yukkichi!"

"Hello, Mucchan. Say, have you seen it?" he asked, his eyes casted at a smiling Neuro and a blinking Yako.

"Seen what?" Yako piped.

Yukinori then put his arms akimbo, his lip jutting out just the slightest as his voice boomed, "It has been circulating since Saturday! Katsuragi, be glad I'm on your side!"

"Eh―"

"Come, come!" he beckoned as he took hold of Yako's right hand, then stiffened at what he had done―

―warily glancing at Neuro's glinting obsidian-jade eyes and madly wide grin, he immediately let go of her hand and took a step back, his hands flying to his back as he did so.

He laughed awkwardly, his eyes looking at anywhere but the two, especially Neuro. Yako simply clamped her lips shut.

"A-anyway, let's just look at it, eh?"

Yako hummed, her brown eyes glancing from Yukinori to Neuro, "Look at what?"

Mutsuki simply held her index finger to her lips, smiling broadly still, "You'll see."

Neuro huffed, that smug smirk still on his face, as he led Yako towards the small and noisy crowd that had gathered―

Yako's hold unconsciously tightened around Neuro's arm.  
><em><br>__―what's up with them?_

Her eyes roamed around her surroundings, and her eyebrows shot up higher and higher as she looked at the unexpected posters that littered the school.

Near the school entrance, on the school bulletin boards, on the lockers that held their school shoes_―_

_―_all of them were stapled with numerous pictures, all crisp and clear and large and colored.

Pictures of Jody Tubulik and of Jennifer Ewing having a forbidden rendezvous inside one of the dimly lit classrooms. The date on the pictures were ranging from five to six o'clock in the afternoon. The pictures showed the two of them either locked in an embrace or locked at the lips.

Yako's mouth fell agape. Her hands tightly wounded around Neuro's arm fell slack.

From a distance, Yako could hear a shrill cry, followed by a piercing scream, followed by a harsh yell of profanities from a man.

Several students slowly hushed and looked at the direction of the unexpected noise_―_up on the second floor near the stairwell. Half-curious and half-appalled, they stopped whispering and stared.

Yelling and shrieking with a banshee wail, Jennifer Ewing came bellowing along with a handful of crumpled papers in her candle-like hands and perfectly-manicured nails. Her flurry of footfalls echoed in the eerily hushed hallways, each pair of eyes landing upon the red-haired Scottish student.

Following quickly behind her was the teacher who started the whole fiasco. Dressed in a pair of crumpled gray slacks and a barely-ironed black shirt with dusty black shoes, a perspiring Jody Tubulik appeared almost tumbling from the stairs, his face painting a deathly white hue as he yelled for Jennifer to stop running.

All the students―save for a smirking Yukinori and a quietly giggling Mutsuki eyeing them from near the bottom of the staircase―steered clear of the Scottish and Turkish's way, mumbling not-so-quiet derisive comments in their wake.

Kanae, who was one of the curious onlookers, hurried over to Yukinori, nudging his arm as she asked him about the whole thing with Jody and Jennifer. Yako noted that the two seemed fine from a distance. _Almost like a couple. No, wait. Stop that thought._

She looked at Neuro. He had yet to say anything. He knew things that she didn't, and Yako was determined that―

"Yako. Rejoice."

Hearing that alone was enough to make Yako snap her head over to that ever present smile. She blinked.

"Neuro. Do you mean you―"

A slim middle finger hovered near her bitty nose, his face just inches away from her own. His fanged teeth gleamed at her as he whispered to her mouth.  
><em><br>__"No one touches my slave. I and I alone should make you feel all the things you should feel. Embarrassment, too. I should be the one to make you feel such emotions."_

Yako swallowed a whimper as her bottom lip quivered. She was about to utter a silent retort when he―

"_I_ am the only one who should gaze at you so intimately. No one, and I mean _no one_, should look at you in such a lascivious manner. Whether your body is horribly enhanced through the means of computers or pasted in different bodies and pictures—no one shall see you like that. I _own _you."

His lips hovered to her now reddened ear, and Yako was very aware of the stares they were receiving. She wondered if they could hear what he was whispering to her.

"The face you made three nights ago. The body you hide from the public. The way you screamed my name when I haven't even penetrated you yet―"

Yako gasped, and her mouth went dry at his words. Her caramel eyes flitted to the nearby students, her heart hammering in her chest. Could they hear? she wondered.

_"―all of it belongs to me."_

Yako almost fell on her knees—and she didn't know why—and if it weren't for Neuro's lean arms, she would've hit the wooden floor.

"Be careful, little kitten!" he happily crooned as he coiled his arm around her waist. His black-green eyes were highly alert around them, those bright eyes wide on any possible "intruders", as he once called his schoolmates.

_Stay away from her._

His unspoken warning was recognized, and the males looked away with their heads bowed as the females looked on with blushing faces.

Yako merely buried her head in his clothes.  
><em><br>__It smells of his cologne again._

* * *

><p>Thirteen pages this time! Yay! XD Also, I feel like something's missing from this chapter, but I can't put my finger on it. D:<p> 


	13. Promoveo

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Promoveo<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Rating has bumped to M! Also, it is reuploaded (for the third time) because of the nasty errors sprinkled on this chapter. Gah! Grammatical-related OCD is kicking in! D:

To Byulli and kimiko-anako, thank you so much for the PMs! You don't know how much those words made me happy. ^w^ And to Shiro-kitsune8, those messages we've been exchanging for the past few months? Yeah, the idea with the onsen-like bathtub scene, I'm considering on putting it on the next chappie. Fufufu~ *evil smile*

* * *

><p>The school buzzed noisily about, their attention and conversation currently fixated on the latest news that flowed from the students' mouths. The wildfires of rumors have already flowed to the upperclassmen and the teachers and staff by the time their lunch break had occurred. Neuro and Yako, for once, were not the center of their classmates' attention, which was a good thing, Yako supposed.<p>

Kanae, too, had been bumbling about this and that, her ears perking at the slightest mention of the scandalized Scottish student and Turkish teacher. She had asked Yukinori about it, but he simply evaded her questions by asking her to go out with him instead. She gave up and went another way, choosing to talk to another person about the recent events, leaving Yukinori pouting.

Mutsuki had been oddly silent during the whole ordeal, opting to simply sit on her seat and smile as she swung her feet and twiddled with her bitty thumbs.

Yako, seeing as no one was paying attention to her and Neuro at the moment, decided to take out her lunch from her bags and, eyeing every corner of the room to check if someone was watching her—Neuro was an exception, he _always _watched her—she opted to take a huge bite out of her lunch. Three containers filled to the brim with lasagna and five containers filled with fettuccini alfredo.

"Gluttonous little piggy."

"Greedy Mister Possessive."

Neuro huffed as he silently removed his shoes with his feet, curling his socked toes as he grinned at her, "I don't share what I have claimed as mine. I'm sure you know that quite well."

"Yes. Yes, I know that quite well. Which is why I called you Mister Possessive."

"You don't want me as possessive?"

"Um... Well..."

"You don't want me to pay attention to you?"

"Well, not really—"

"You don't want me to talk and look at you?"

"Neuro, that's not what I—" _Don't look at me with those puppy eyes!_

"You don't want me to cuddle you close at night and kiss you and touch you and—"

"W-wait! Hold that thought and don't finish it!"

"Heh."

Silence ensued between them, save for the echoes and murmurs of the students huddled in their respective groups, no doubt talking about Ewing and Tubulik.

Yako looked around, paranoid-like, Neuro observed. He smiled.

"What's running in that dusty mind of yours right now? I can see you struggling to think of a proper and coherent thought with your utterly non-existent intelligence."

Yako simply shook her head as she scooped a forkful of her food.

Neuro hummed, and dangled his socked foot in front of Yako's face. Still, she said nothing as she chewed on a mouthful of lasagna.

"Those cheeks of yours are going to combust if you keep on doing that."

"Shut'yer mou'h. I' try'n' t'ea'—mmpf—don' put your—foot on m'mouth!"

Neuro merely blankly smiled as he shoved his socked foot on her clamped and puckered lips, unmindful of the remnants of sauce and bits of pasta stuck there.

"You wash my socks after this."

Yako merely whined.

* * *

><p>"So. Let me get this straight. Neuro manipulated everything to his wants in order for them to be... punished...?"<p>

Mutsuki nodded gravely, her lips drawn in a thin line. Yako had been asking questions to Mutsuki since the teachers and parents' committee had decided to call on an urgent meeting after their lunch break. Classrooms and faculty rooms were ceaselessly bumbling in a flurry of activity, gossiping and having no rest at all since the early morning of the Tubulik-Ewing incident.

Yako's ears tried to gather all words circulating inside the library. Students were huddling in one corner of the room, talking and whispering seemingly to no end.

_"That gaijin deserved it. Have you seen how much she hauled herself on all the boys in our school?"_

_"She tried to claw on Neuro-sama!"_

_"Quite shamelessly, too! Poor Yako-sama..."_

_"And she's also a huge suck-up for Tubulik-sensei."_

_"Eh? _Please._ I don't think he deserves to be called our teacher anymore."_

_"Have you seen how pathetic she looked when she almost—"_

_"I know, right! She was all, trying to remove all of the posters with her overly-manicured nails."_

_"As if she could pull them down all at once." __  
><em>  
>And stifled laughs filled the air.<p>

Yako warily looked around the library. For once, Neuro wasn't with her, with him having to go with Yukinori and Shinobu earlier while she went on her way with Mutsuki, it gave her a chance to feel a sense of a different calm.

Besides, her hairclips were doing a great job of keeping Neuro calm, Yako supposed. The clips were turned on, serving their alternative purpose as a listening device. _He must have had that earpiece stuck in his ear again, no doubt. Not that I mind it at all. That eagle eye of mine_.

Yako heaved a heavy sigh and slowly ate her last dumpling stealthily, eyeing the librarian who was scolding the boisterous students with a harsh whisper as she did so.

Mutsuki smiled at Yako, tight-lipped, as she, too, lazily looked around at what might caught the older female's attention. She shrugged her shoulders and stretched, yawning.

"Mutsuki-_tan_... Did you help him too?" Yako nervously asked as she swallowed her last bite of food. She couldn't quite help but feel queasy that a tiny, innocent, all-smiles girl like her would help Neuro, her utterly sadistic _partner_—the thought alone made her grin—in torturing her unfortunate perpetrators.

"Yup. I took the list of students that have direct access to the school's private server. Also the ones who are very adept in computers, particularly in the photo editing department."

"May I ask who did you get it from?"

"From Gocchan."

"Oh."

Yako felt her innards go cold. Sitting in front of her was a girl almost half her size (_not really!_) and smiling at her while her words spoke of how she aided in—

"I also helped with Neuro-_nii_'s toys."

At this, Yako's interest sparked with renewed enthusiasm, "Toys? What toys?"

Mutsuki blinked, her head cocked to one side as she curiously regarded the 16-year-old's quizzical face with amusement. "The toys he used for the deed," she explained, quite vaguely, to Yako.

"Deed?"

"For the torture."

And Yako gaped, her face pale and her voice almost breathy as she exclaimed—in the most silent manner she could muster.

"He used _what _exactly?"

* * *

><p>Neuro smiled the whole time he was with Hisanori in the principal's office. The help he had received from the Hayasaka brothers was more than enough for him.<p>

Yukinori and Shinobu came to the office with Neuro earlier to tell Hisanori the results of today's—quite interesting—mishap. The younger Hayasaka and Shinobu left the moment Hisanori had dismissed them with a hidden smile.

He was left alone with the green-eyed blond.

Hisanori beamed at the tall teenager. Even if he had to tilt his head upwards just so he could look at Neuro, there was no intimidation in his stance.

"Nougami-_kun_. Now I see how much of a beast you can be."

"That's not even my inner beast."

Hisanori laughed and patted his arm, "I see. So you are still hiding your inner devil."

"Oh, don't worry," Neuro laughed, a huge grin plastered upon his face, fanged teeth glinting at the principal. "The devil is already standing in front of you. The beast, on the other hand, is quite... reserved, if I should say."

A slim index finger kissed his quirking lips, winking playfully at the older male as he cocked his head, "Yako has seen glimpses of my inner beast, if memory serves."

Hisanori's eyebrow rose, his lips twitching in a tiny smirk as he crooned, "Oh? She has?"

"Yes."

"And may I ask, if you so permit, where has she seen this... hidden side of yours?"

Neuro smirked and chuckled, the pad of his pointer tapped his bottom lip thrice, and a mischievous glint shone in his whirlpool dark green eyes as he spoke.

"Oh. In bed."

Hisanori's eyebrows rose even higher than they were a few seconds ago, and his smile broadened just a tad—actually reaching his ears, for once—his eyes widened just a bit more, and Neuro could make out a bit of the older male's eye color.

"In bed," he parroted, his voice quite disbelieving at what the teenager just uttered.

A lopsided smirk painted Neuro's lips, his demeanor cool as he strode over to the door.

"Yes. In bed."

With one last look at the slightly surprised man, "Please don't tell my kitten I told you that. If she knew, she'll bite my neck again. The last time she did that, I got a huge bruise, right here." He pointed to his jugular, broadly smiling still.

With that said, Neuro opened the door and exited the room, leaving a baffled Hisanori smiling after him.

"...I did not know Katsuragi-_chan _is vicious when it comes to him. I should take note of that."

* * *

><p>"Got rid of them, missy. Nothing to worry about."<p>

"Heh. Good thing you did something right in your miserable life for once."

"Shaddup, ya monster! I wasn'talking to ya!"

Yako laughed.

It was a chance meeting that Neuro and Yako met Shinobu at a ramen store, one that was opened recently. And Yako, being the "hungry little piglet" that she had always been (Neuro's words), decided to drag the tall blond with him. Not that Neuro had a choice. He always wanted her to be within his sight, no matter what.

They didn't know that the store they were in was a store run by Shinobu's distant relative and—

—well, Shinobu was a part-timer there, by the looks of things.

Yako sipped on her green tea, hazel eyes blinking at the bleached-haired male, "So you mean to say that you um... 'cleaned' up the mess?" Neuro, for once, decided to stay silent, opting to smile as he crossed his arms and leaned on the back of his chair. Yako sat beside him, with a stack of plates dividing the table between her and him. The turn of their conversation was getting rather interesting, though he'd somehow let Yako do the talking for now.

"Yeah, we did. The boss and the little sprout helped. The boss's brother finished everything," Shinobu grumbled as he shrugged. He was on a break, and Neuro had effortlessly coaxed him to talking—"to give a report and a briefing of what had happened", as what Neuro called it. The irate man reluctantly obeyed.

Yako chewed on her lip, uncertain on how to respond and to ask another question as she glanced at the dimly lit lights and on the brick red-hued walls. Neuro, sensing her hesitation, hummed as he grinned. She clamped her mouth shut, for she knew that it was now his turn to speak. She already had the information she needed—thanks to Mutsuki.

"Where are the slugs?"

"Bound in a room where no one can see 'em. S'not that easy ta get them all knocked out, ya know. One kept tryin' ta bite me on the legs despite him bein' bound. Ya got them all toasted down there, didn't ya?" Shinobu asked dryly as he chewed on his unlit cigarette, his face etched in a constant scowl as he glared at Neuro.

The green-eyed man merely smiled blankly in return. Yako sighed as she ate her eighth bowl of ramen. _I don't want to know what happened exactly._

Neuro laughed, "I wanted to see them castrated, actually. It sounds more... satisfying. Oh, and did you know that they once tried to steal the answer key for the recent exam that we had? So I thought they need more punishment for that. So I toasted their sacks seven times at least."

Shinobu's eye twitched as Yako's shoulders merely slumped; she was already used to his bouts of sadistic thoughts.

"Seeing ya say that with a smile on yer face makes me wantta crawl an'hide."

A slim eyebrow arched, Neuro's blank smile still placed on his thin lips as he cocked his head, "Then please do crawl and hide. Do it six feet under too, if you could."

"Shut it, monster!"

A shoe-clad foot was nudged painfully to his face.

Yako giggled, and Neuro shifted his attention back to her, a wide grin plastered on his face as he eyed her with glee. "Do you want a face full of shoe and dust, too?"

Still giggling, Yako wiped a stray droplet of broth from her lips as she looked at Neuro with a smile, "N-no thanks. But I do want another bowl of rame—urk!"

Neuro shoved three of his thin fingers down her full mouth. She gagged while she pleaded to him incoherently—he didn't seem to mind it at all that his hand was being drenched in spit and ramen broth. Shinobu yelled muffled profanities at him as he gave Neuro the dirty finger.

Needless to say, the customers inside the ramen house looked at them with utter disbelief.

* * *

><p>Kanae had been fussing over Yuuya's condition since this morning. Seeing him dangling buck-naked from the ceiling was something that she hadn't expected when she came over to his room. It had taken her an hour just to release him from his bonds on the unforgiving fan blades. The filament rope on which he had been bound in was nearly cut the moment she had grabbed him from where she tried so desperately to reach him from the small ladder thrown carelessly near his bedroom door. Even so, Yuuya uttered no word of complaint or sound of distress when his hands and feet met the floor. He was silent. Too silent. And he had almost fainted from fatigue. He didn't eat the food Kanae made for him, his disposition remained completely blank even as she tried to talk to him.<p>

She sighed as she ate a small piece of her takoyaki. The girl was currently eating alone in her room, her body sprawled on the bed. She was clad in a white tank top and a pair of black, short shorts, with a lone teddy bear sitting in front of her forlorn form, the toy's beady little eyes were staring back at her—black and dim.

"Hi-_kun_ wouldn't tell me who did that to him. I'm his girlfriend, I should know such things, right? At least when I talk to Ha-_kun_, he tells me everything I need to know... Wait. That doesn't sound right...!"

She sat upright, her back rigid, her lips scrunched and her arms pulled taut to her knees as she glared at her plush toy.

"I wish you could talk right now, you know. It might help ease my feelings a bit."

Ebony button eyes looked at her, its cotton-threaded mouth formed in a small, eternal smile.

Kanae huffed and crossed her arms.

"Don't make a mockery out of me, you fluffy thing."

The teddy bear tumbled lifelessly to its side, and Kanae groaned.

* * *

><p>With the rumors about the Tubulik-Ewing scandal hushing to a grinding halt—Mutsuki had her methods—the real story and the outrageous hearsays about the principal's involvement in the picture leakage slowly died out.<p>

Neuro and Yako have been completely silent about the whole thing, opting to throw in a few vague statements to their classmates just to make themselves look innocent. Kanae, for once, had been oddly mum, unlike before. Yako assumed that her friend knew everything through Yukinori.

She wondered how they were faring.

Once school was over, the flames of rumors were slowly being dampened to silent wisps of smoke. Neuro and Yako passed through the entrance gates, hand in hand, with passive looks on their faces, as they talked with their eyes. Turning around a corner and avoiding some of their schoolmates, Neuro finally talked to a quiet Yako.

"Louse, it's a good thing you didn't think of trying to babble today—saves us unneeded explanations for the ugly rumor-mongers."

Yako giggled, "I didn't know we could talk that way."

"Talk in what way?"

"Us talking with our eyes."

Neuro huffed, a lopsided smirk placed on his lips as he stole a glance from Yako, "I think we have been too attached, that's all."

"Neuro. We have always been too attached to each other. Heck, I've never seen you hang out with another girl—"

"Why should I? It's not like they could withstand what I put you through every day, anyway."

Yako hummed and pursed her lips, not sure where their conversation was heading, "So if they can withstand your everyday sadistic punishment, they're worthy of you, is that it?"

"Psh. That tone you're using on me—are you perhaps, jealous?"

Yako scoffed, "Me? Jealous? Jealous of what?"

"Jealous of whoever might catch my attention and might surpass your stamina at receiving punishment?"

She pursed her lips, silent.

"Heh. Like hell I'd let another girl catch my attention. They're all great at acting like the total bitches that they are."

"Should I feel relieved about that, I wonder?"

"Of course you should, you nitwit. You should be grateful that I'm clinging onto your skeleton self and showering myself in your attention. I'd rather much prefer to be with your teeny self than those gigantic bimbos."

"Says the man who is gigantic enough to smother me when I sleep."

Neuro laughed, his tone playful as he smirked at her, "_That _is a different story. And I'm talking about their gigantic milk sacks. You're body is small enough for me to—'smother' you, as you say. And it's warm, too. So you won't see me complaining."

"I think that's a rude way of describing the female anatomy, I can't help but feel offended on that, you know. (And you insulted my chest size again.) I still don't get it how my body being warm has anything to do with you being so gigantic, though."

"You'll know it someday. And feel free to be offended at my words. Either way, it's not like you'll get to that size, anyway. Unless I'll slap them everyday until they get pink and sore. That might do the trick."

Yako puffed her cheeks, quite peeved and quite alarmed at his last words—_(A hidden promise, perhaps?)_. She glared at Neuro, then blinked upon seeing a calm smile on his face. He said nothing as they walked hand in hand, a comfortable silence wrapped between them.

* * *

><p>The silent drone of the two small electric fans echoed in the arid room. The air smelled of suffocating heat and incense. White paint on concrete walls blinded Jody Tubulik's eyes as he wiped the sweat forming on his brow, wobbling to straighten himself on the couch as he did. He was seated on a stuffy black leather couch, beside an unconscious Jennifer, and even as his black eyes roamed the quite empty room, he couldn't fathom as to why he was in an unfamiliar place.<br>_  
><em>_Last thing I remember was running after Jen and—_

"Ah, you've awoken!"

"Where—"

"You're in my humble abode, Tubulik. Do you know why?"

The voice that eerily resonated in the room buzzed through Jody's ears, and his still unfocused eyes looked at a hazy figure standing a few feet away from him.

"Wh-who—"

A sound of a booming laugh pierced through the walls, "Oh dear, have you gone blind? Tubulik, I'm quite sure you weren't blind when I hired you."

Jody gulped as he mouthed a muted response.

"I didn't hear that. Could you repeat it?"

The pregnant pause lingered on, and Jody's eyes slowly focused on the smiling man in front of him.

"...Hayasaka."

"That's Hayasaka-_san _for you. Have you realized what you have just done? You and your favorite pet? To my bread and butter?" he asked with a deceptive smile, his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke. Jody glanced at the unconscious Scot, then at the smiling man's polished black shoes. His throat clenched. Jody didn't speak. Hisanori's smile faltered the slightest.

"I commanded you to speak, I believe."

Jody's lips twitched as he mouthed a word.

"Destruction."

* * *

><p>"Eh? Neuro? What's that?"<p>

"What's what?"

"That tablet your taking."

Neuro looked at the yellow pill in his hand, blinking at it rather innocently, then turning at Yako with a smile.

"Do you want one?"

Yako hastily shook her head, "What's it for?"

With a nonchalant shrug, he took the pill and drank a glass of water, "For my hated weakness."

"Eh? Weakness?"

"Typhoon season is approaching. It means the weather will turn cold. And you know how I am when it comes to the cold weather."

Yako pursed her lips as she turned around and removed her hairclips and placed them on the nightstand. They have returned to the Katsuragi abode, and they have just finished eating their dinner. Both of them were now in Yako's room, with Neuro sitting on her bed and Yako standing beside her vanity.

"Yes. You usually become grumpy and you would take all your frustrations at me. And you would suffocate me at night like I'm your personal pillow and you would be clinging onto me for the whole night. And you would be uncharacteristically quiet. That pill you took, on the other hand, I haven't seen it. I never once thought you take supplements."

Neuro smirked as he plopped his head on the feather down pillows, his body bouncing on the mattress as he did so, "Well, now you know."

Yako resigned and mustered a small smile in return. His smiles have always been contagious, and she had never really had the heart to stay angry at him.

Conscious of the watchful dark green eyes roaming her thinly clad form (thanks to his Victorian costume-turned-Yako's-sleepwear), Yako joined Neuro on the bed, crawling over his body as she eyed him with mischievous caramel eyes and a sly smile.

Hooded pools of dark green and melted onyx devoured the girl crawling oh-so-slowly upon him. And with a lazy and lopsided smile, he tilted his head as his eyebrows raised in amusement.

"What are you doing, little slave?"

* * *

><p>Hisanori snickered as his smile turned to a hidden snarl.<p>

"Destruction. Yes. That would be one of the ways to describe what you have done. You and your little girl toy."

Jody stole a glance at the (seething) smiling principal.

"You already let Ewing off of her leash once. And what did she do the moment you let her prowl? She injured a student. A female student. And _that _female student just happened to be a very intimate and important person to the top notch student in the whole school. Do you know what that means? Because Katsuragi Yako is vital to Nougami Neuro's academic performance. You know why?"

An onslaught of hot breath fanned over Jody Tubulik's face, Hisanori's smile glaring at his appalled visage.

"Because he's _a diamond_ to the whole school. And I'll do _anything_ to make him stay."

* * *

><p>Yako returned the coy smile as she draped herself languidly over Neuro's clothed form. She idly noted that he was becoming leaner in the past few months.<p>

"I'm trying to keep you warm."

He smirked as he leaned on the headboard, his arms getting lax as he let her roam on him.

"Give it your best, kitten."

* * *

><p>Jody's hands clenched as he chewed on his lip, not liking the way he was being lectured on. Sure, Hisanori was his boss, but still...<p>

"Katsuragi was not even severely injured. I wouldn't even call it an injury!"

"Don't raise your voice. You don't hear me raising my voice," Hisanori said with a finger pointed upwards at the Turk, a lilting quirk of a lip etched upon his face as he almost spoke in a whisper. "Yes. I agree it wasn't an injury. But for _him_—it _had_ been an injury."

Hisanori turned around, his polished black shoes clacking on the wooden floors, "My sources tell me that Nougami Neuro is very, _very _protective of Katsuragi Yako. Protective to the point that he had always been with her at all costs—just to keep her safe. At nights. In her house. Everyday." His smile returned to its brightest beam as he faced Jody once again, "It could be considered paranoia and stalking at first. But once you know why he had became like that towards her, you'd see that him doing things like to her..."

Hisanori paused, and took a deep breath as he glanced at the slumbering Jennifer.

"You will understand his reasons. He is a quite remarkable young man. And I suggest that you and your pet... take your leave and go to another school."

* * *

><p>Two thin arms coiled around a warm nape, and a bitty nose nuzzled the crook of a smiling blond's neck.<p>

Neuro purred in contentment as Yako blew warm air to his ear, his large hand cupping the back of her head as she nibbled on his lobe.

"Hm. Not bad. You could do better than that, though."

Yako hummed and wrapped her arms around his waist instead, and she enclosed her lips around his Adam's apple, playing with it and licking it as it bobbed.

"I miss this. The last time you did this... Well, your mother interrupted us."

Yako merely smiled, he felt it through his skin, and she nipped on it, grazing her teeth on the jutting bone there. And she clamped on it.

Neuro gasped.

* * *

><p>Jody snapped his head to Hisanori, black eyes widening as he gaped, "Hayasaka-<em>san<em>! You can't do this! It's my life on the line here!"

Hisanori flicked his hand dismissively at the teacher, his face contorted in sick apathy, "Apparently, I can do it. And you have jeopardized your life the moment you had let your heart down—and with your own student, no less. I couldn't even begin where to take you because of such misconduct," He coolly huffed with a calm smile, ignoring the grumbling girl twitching beside the teacher.

Jennifer Ewing stirred from her unconscious state. Her eyes opened.

"Master?"

At this, Hisanori's face twisted in what Jody could see as mock pity. The principal's lips curled to a barely-hidden grimace.

"So she has awoken."

* * *

><p>Neuro groaned, sending vibrations to Yako's lips and mouth, and he closed his eyes as his lips parted and clutched onto Yako's back.<p>

"Yako..."

Yako grinned a toothy grin as she pressed herself closer to him and grinded herself upon him.

A fanged smile accompanied Neuro's pleased look, "You're becoming more and more brazen everyday, I see. I wonder where you have gotten such behavior."

The humor and barely contained grin was not lost on Yako's heightened hearing, and she nibbled his lower lip, sucking on it rather noisily as she eyed him with glee. "I have gotten all of this from you, you know. Don't play dumb on me."

She received a harsh slap on her bottom. Yako merely tilted her head back with a groan, releasing Neuro's lip in the process.

"It seems that I have made a monster out of you. Where have you hidden my gluttonous little piggy, you minx?"

In response, Yako pouted as she glared through glazed and hooded eyes, amused at his playfulness, "She's still here, you know. Besides, you're to blame for all this."

Neuro smirked and laughed as he bit on her neck. Her back arched and she swallowed a moan.

* * *

><p>Monday started out like any other day, except that there was an eerie sound of calm that surrounded the students. Neuro could care less, and Yako was not oblivious to it all.<p>

She swallowed her last piece of hamburger before craning her neck towards a bored-looking Neuro sitting behind her with his socked feet lying adjacent to her shoulders, "Hayasaka-_san _did something again, huh."

"It seems that way," Neuro mumbled with a yawn as he turned a page of his latest reading material (a five-hundred page novel), "That little pipsqueak is doing a great job in keeping those fugly wads of scum in line, too, if you ask me."

"Mutsuki-_tan_? Yeah, I think she does. She seems to have a powerful hold of the student body's respect. I wonder why."

He snorted, "Blame her wealth."

Yako hummed as she nodded and faced the board.

Kanae entered the classroom with a barely hidden smile on her face as she skipped towards Yako.

"Good morning!"

Yako, startled out of her reverie about food, snapped her eyes to a broadly grinning Kanae.

She blinked, "Kanae-_chan_. You look happy today."

Kanae giggled as she leaned on Yako's desk, winking, "I always do, Yako." The hazel-eyed girl looked to her side, eyebrows scrunched and lips twisted to a scoff, "Uh, no you don't." Kanae heaved a sigh as her shoulders slumped, "Fine. I admit it. I wasn't feeling like myself for the past few weeks, but I'm feeling great today! And guess what, Yako! I have great news!"

Yako blinked and her eyebrows slightly rose as Kanae leaned towards her ear, giggling still.

"Hi-_kun _and I broke up."

A loud yell, followed by Kanae muffling Yako's mouth, was the chain of reaction that Kanae expected from her.

Neuro peered from behind his book, a thin eyebrow raised at the wide-eyed and fumbling girls.

Kanae, sensing that a pair of piercing and watchful green eyes were glaring at her, laughed awkwardly towards the unfazed blond.

"Eh heh. Um. Nougami-_san_? Can I borrow Yako for a minute? It will be quick, I promise."

Neuro simply glanced at Yako with a passive face, his eyebrows raised, then he tapped his head twice with his middle finger, and Yako nodded.

"Neuro says it's fine," Yako grinned at Kanae as she stood. The brown-haired girl, puzzled by the lack of words exchanged between the two, blinked.

"Are you sure that it's fine with him?" she asked as she took a glimpse of Neuro's stoic expression. She saw no indication that he agreed, and the last thing she wanted was to receive Nougami Neuro's wrath. She knew very well how much he would go ballistic if Yako were in any form of (needless) harm.

Yako simply scratched her head as she awkwardly smiled at her friend, "It's fine with him, really. Right, Neuro?"

In response, he grabbed her head and seemingly scratched the side of her ears with his thumbs; then he let go of her, a small and knowing smile crept to his lips as he did so. And Yako grinned at him.

Kanae stood in front of them with a curious gaze, blinking, puzzled at how they can interact to such an extent without the use of words. _For some reason, I feel jealous._

* * *

><p>Kanae and Yako entered the girls' room with a tense silence.<p>

Checking the agape cubicle doors to see if no one's really there, Kanae heaved a sigh of relief as she faced Yako with determination set in her chocolate eyes. Yako, too, looked at her with the same intense stare. She was the first to break the ice.

"So you and Higuchi-_san _broke up?"

Kanae nodded.

"Just like that? Without premises? With no methods to mend your relationship at all whatsoever?"

Kanae looked away, towards the large mirror near the sink, as she scratched her arm and bit her lower lip.

Yako sighed.

"...It's Yukinori-_san_, isn't it?"

At the mere mention of his name, Kanae looked at her—guiltily, almost.

And Yako's face fell as realization dawned on her; she hugged her best friend.

"Oh, Kanae...!"

Kagohara Kanae broke down and cried.

* * *

><p>Lunch period came, and the tense silence that seemed to affect the whole school was slowly being lifted by the comedians of each class.<p>

Yako and Neuro's class, too, seemed to be trying to ease out their tensions—no thanks to the Scottish student—with little effort.

Yako looked around her classroom with a grumble as she chewed on her triangle sandwiches.

"Neuro, don't you think the atmosphere's too tense?" she asked the lazily smiling man looking at her. "Please don't look at me like that," she hastily added as she was seeing the minute signs of his blank smile emerging from his face.

"I don't care if it's tense or not," he shrugged, leaning over to Yako to eat (steal) the remaining sandwich in her hand—ignoring her cries of protest as he ate it in one bite. "As long as you can eat, right?"

Yako simply licked the crumbs stuck on her thumb and pointer finger. Neuro, looking at her with a small smile and with warm green eyes, bit her finger with a silent groan, making sure she was looking at his tongue.

Yako gasped, and had to swiftly scan the room with frantic caramel eyes. "Neuro, stop it...! What if someone sees...?" she whispered quickly, and he obeyed—or so she thought.

Neuro _did _let go of her, all right—after he stole a quick nibble on her crumb-sprinkled lips, that is.

The distinctive gasp was what Yako expected from her classmates around her. When she did a quick glance sideways, however, all she saw was Kanae standing near her chair, covering her mouth with a notebook as she blushed profusely.

_"We need to talk later, little kitten," _Neuro whispered—with a toothy smile—to Yako's reddened ear. She instinctively backed away from his quite intruding behavior, but to no avail.

Because Neuro's hands held Yako still.

Kanae muffled an excited squeal.

* * *

><p>"So he broke up with the boy-hoarder? Just like that?"<p>

A sigh. "Neuro, you already know the answer. You were eavesdropping through my clips earlier, remember? I felt them switch to 'listen mode' the moment you patted my head before I left with her."

Neuro stretched his arms upwards as he yawned, popping a few bones here and there, and Yako strayed her eyes away from the bit of flesh that peeked from Neuro's PE shirt.

"Well, I want clarity, piggy," he said as he finished warming up, smiling at her as he did so.

"Always making sure, huh. Why are you so interested in it, anyway? It's not like you have developed a penchant for school gossip. Or any gossip, for that matter."

Neuro shrugged, and smiled lazily at her instead, opting to ignore her question.

Yako did her stretches, with Neuro "helping" her out by heaving his whole body on her—cackling madly all the while. She merely grumbled.

"Kanae-_chan_ told me she's giving Yukinori-_san _a chance."

Neuro huffed and rolled his eyes as he moved away from her poor back, and lifted Yako up on his shoulders—she didn't complain at the treatment—grinning widely as he walked over to where the students gathered in the gym. Yako said no word, only a soundless gasp as she felt the ground leave her feet. The teacher ignored them both as they approached—the faculty (as well as some of the students) have already been used to seeing Nougami Neuro and Katsuragi Yako interact in their normal, abnormal way. There was a time when a rumor about the status of their relationship circulated—that Neuro had always been hovering around Yako wherever she would be, and he had done so since the early years they have known each other—it turned out to be true to some of the students the moment they knew the truth that Neuro _had _been sleeping with Yako (literally!) inside her house. How the students found out, however, it remained a mystery. Not that both parties denied the truth. It meant no malice to Yako, and Neuro brushed the snide comments aside. Not that it would change anything between him and his Little Louse, anyway.

Once their school activities have ended, Neuro had effortlessly coaxed a hungry Yako into buying another set of books for him. It was the third time for the past few days. And as grumpy as she was when she had put the books on the counter to pay them (her insatiable hunger combined with her thinning wallet had always made her feel grouchy—she blamed _him_), Yako had smiled when the familiar face of the bookstore owner that they had known throughout the years had commented that Yako and Neuro were "growing up so fast" and was actually giddy when she had piped a cheerful, "I remember when you two had first entered this store! It was a dreadful afternoon, too; with all those gunshots and screaming! But it turned out well, all because of this brave, young soul here! And afterwards, you two fought like the most adorable kids that you are! And look at you two now, still together after all this time...! Yako-_chan_, Neuro-_kun_, I do hope I'd get invited to your wedding someday! I know it will be the two of you that will end up together!" And the owner had winked at a pink-faced Yako.

Yako had only laughed awkwardly about the comment—and had tried to reign in her blushing cheeks at the same time—while Neuro had grinned widely at the plump woman.

"We'll remember to invite you, ma'am," Neuro had said with much ease as he bowed—with a right hand placed on his heart when he did so (like a _gentleman_)—and Yako had only looked up at him in disbelief to gauge if he was joking.  
><em><br>__It didn't look like he was joking, though._

Yako sighed as she plopped on the bed and recalled today's events.

"You're sighing again, bread crust. You've been doing that ever since we left the bookstore," Neuro idly observed as he turned a page of one of his newly-bought books—mystery novels and unsolved crimes of the century were the running themes in the latest series, and he just _had _to have them.

Yako turned to the calmly smiling man who was sitting on her bed, leaning on the headboard with an air of smugness and contentment. She pouted as she gazed at those deep green eyes.

"You didn't have to tell the bookstore owner about such things, you know. I mean, what if it won't happen? People change over time."

"The word 'if' has never been indicated in my dictionary—I'm sure you know that quite well. It has always been 'will' and 'must'. It will stay that way, louse," his tone was clipped, final, in a way that will leave her with no room for arguments.

She simpered at his words, feeling quite elated that he would make such a thing come true, and it brought a huge grin on her face, "You sound so sure of it."

He huffed, "You sound so doubtful of it. Though I wouldn't really think of it that way, judging from the way you're curling your toes over there. I could feel you smiling even if I'm not looking at you."

Silence—and for a moment, Neuro thought that Yako fell asleep. He looked at her, and found her staring at the ceiling, "Ran out of things to say?" Yako's smile faltered just a bit, and she shrugged, "I hope it will—"

Two quick knocks on the door startled them both, and Yako sat up straight on the bed—

—and Neuro threw a turtleneck sweater at her face.

"Eh? Where did you get th—"

"Just put it on. You're not wearing your underwear again."

She did so without hesitation, and she saw Neuro visibly sigh with relief as the door creaked slowly.

The Katsuragi couple peeked through the small gap on the door, both smiling softly at the two teenagers sitting on the bed. "Hey, Yako. Hello, Neuro dear. May we come in?" Haruka asked. They saw their daughter nod—rather stiffly, Neuro mused—and they entered the room.

"Mother, Father, what's up?" Yako asked warily as she watched her parents cross the room. They had never entered her room unless they needed to clear something up—an issue in school or some serious matter regarding her grades (not that an issue with her grades had ever happened, as long as Neuro was with her)—and the sight of both of her parents kind of made Yako nervous.

_I guess they want to talk to me and to Neuro._

"Good evening, Haruka-_san_, Seiichi-_san_," Neuro greeted as he set his book down on his lap as calmly as he could.

Haruka giggled and smiled at the blond, "Oh, Neuro dear, I told you to call us 'Mother' and 'Father'! You know you're like the son that we never had!"

Neuro smiled as he tilted his head, mustering his most innocent smile at the couple, "But I cannot possibly do that, Haruka-_san_. Not until I have your daughter's hand in marriage."

And Seiichi laughed at the younger male's comment, "That's the spirit, my boy! I've told Haruka here that you still have time to adjust to such title-calling. You have always been a young man that respects the people around you."

At this, Yako rolled her eyes, glancing briefly at the smiling, green-eyed young man. Neuro caught her gaze, and he smirked at her. Yako let it be, not wanting to correct her father that Neuro was anything _but _respectful.

Haruka, though, was moved to tears at Neuro's words, and she strode over to where he sat on the bed, hugging him—a reaction that Neuro was quite surprised about. Even Yako herself was surprised—and amused at the same time.

"Oh, I knew we could count on you the moment I first saw you! My gut instinct told me so! You had always been there to protect my baby from harm whenever we're not there for her!" Haruka exclaimed, sniffling as she broke the sudden hug, holding Neuro at arm's length. He didn't know what to say or how to react at times like these—it was his first encounter about such a thing—and for a moment, he steadily looked at Yako, his obsidian-jade eyes almost _begging _for her to save him.

A quite unnatural reaction for him, Yako observed with a stifled grin and giggle.

"Now, now, Mother. Let's not scare him—"

"But he's always holding you like this! What makes it different?"

An awkward silence hung over the room the second she spoke her words, with Neuro and Yako looking at Haruka with expressionless faces while Seiichi slapped a palm to his forehead.

Haruka, sensing that she had said something wrong—judging from their reactions—thinned her lips as she looked from her daughter, to Neuro's quite "uncharacteristic" passive face. And it dawned on her.

"O-oh! I see! I'm guessing it's different because it's my daughter you've always held! You sly young man, you!" and Haruka sighed as she gazed dreamily at the wall, almost reminiscing. "I remember the time when Seiichi and I were dating. He embraced me so tightly that I almost—"

"Mother, please! Spare us the inappropriate details!" Yako ghastly exclaimed, quite embarrassed and horrified at how she was hearing such a story from her own mother. It didn't help matters that she was telling said inappropriate story in front of _Neuro_, of all people.

_And why did he suddenly look so interested at my mother's tale?_

"Oh, Yako, I was just teasing you! But anyway, the real reason why we came here is because we want to give Neuro something."

Yako, interested at what her parents were about to give Neuro, blinked, "And I guess it's important? Because you two could just give it tomorrow or something."

Seiichi laughed as he patted his daughter's head, "Yes, it's _very_ important. And your mother and I are quite sure that he will take care of it, just as how we're sure that he will take care of you."

Yako giggled as she stifled a smile, "Oh, Father..." Hearing such words from her parents somehow made her feel proud for Neuro. And she wasn't sure why.

* * *

><p>"—and so now Nougami-<em>san<em> has the key to your house?"

"Uh, yeah. Mother and Father gave him a spare and—"

"Oh my gosh, Yako! Do you know what that means?"

"Uh, no—"

"It means that the wedding bells will soon be heard! Haruka-_san_ and Seiichi-_san_ were right about giving him the key! It means that they trust him to the point of giving him their own home! And Yako! You will soon become his bride just like what I once predicted!"

"Kanae-_chan_! How did a key end up to being the topic of weddings!"

Kanae giggled at her friend's reaction. It had been a week since the day she told Yako that she had broken up with Yuuya—and she realized it was a good thing later on. Yako finally had the courage to speak up about what really happened on that day last vacation, and Kanae was rendered speechless the whole time Yako was explaining. Once Yako was finished, she expected her friend to be mad at her, but the only reaction she had gotten was a mumbled, "I knew it" and a barely concealed scowl (for Yuuya).

The brown-haired girl later on came to terms with Yukinori, stating that they should return to square one, "to test the waters", as Yukinori said.

Mutsuki simply smiled and listened on to what her two older sisters—as she once dubbed them as—have said about matters of the heart. One was rash and falls in love easily and always had a hard time keeping long-term relationships. One was loyal and faithful to a young man whom she had been friends with since third grade—and Mutsuki was sure that no matter how many times Yako would deny it, her actions would always be contrary to what she would speak. Mutsuki knew. She had observed her older sisters closely—it was "to know the things that would someday come to her", as her grandfather once told her.

"Mutsuki-_tan_ should find a man that will be worthy of you, right?" Yako piped, and Mutsuki's tinkling laugh echoed in their ears.

They were having a "girl talk", or a "senseless spout of inane drabbles" as what Neuro called, and Yako had only laughed even as he tossed her in the air for "not giving him his share of food." It was a good thing they were on the school grounds, though. It prevented him from doing anything further _inappropriate_ actions to Yako. Good thing Yako made her point across that she and her friends needed to be alone. So the boys left—although Neuro commanded her to go to him later for punishment. Yako wordlessly agreed.

"Someday, I'll find someone who's as adventurous as Neuro-_nii_!"

Scratching her bite-ridden nape that was hidden from the public's view—thanks to the ever-possessive Neuro and his quite semi-present marks—Yako smiled, her soft caramel eyes looking at her prickly bracelet fondly.

Kanae, noticing that her friend was staring too intently at her trinket, grinned and she mused out loud, "You're deeply in love with him, aren't you? It's just only recently that you realized it."

Yako bit her lip, stifling a broad smile that threatened to split her flushed face. Her hands fumbled and her toes curled from beneath her socks and shoes. The soothing wind that caressed their faces was a warm welcome to their skin.

"I have realized it, yes. I mean, I have been thinking about it, and falls into one place—"

"—that you love him."

"Yes. That I love him. But..."

"But what, Yako?"

"Kana-_nee_, let me explain it for _nee-chan_, if it's all right with her," Mutsuki said calmly as she glanced at Yako. And seeing her consent, the girl squared her shoulders as she looked at Kanae's eyes.

"Neuro-_nii_ hasn't said to _nee-chan _the thing that every girl wants to hear from their special someone."

"Eh? For real? Yako, is that true? You mean he never said it to you?"

The questions the flowed from Kanae rendered Yako somehow mute as she only nodded, but it soon changed to confusion when Kanae later on smiled and squealed.

"Kanae-_chan_, what—"

"You mean he hasn't said those words that I heard that night when we were at the hotel last summer?"

"Um, no. What words?"

Kanae leaned away, flailed her arms as a wide grin painted her perfectly-healed face, "That he wanted you to become his woman! Well, it wasn't what I thought he'd say, but he said it so seriously! And with that—that _smile_, too! That smile that he seems to reserve only for you! I'm sure you know about the smile, though."

Yako's eyes widened as clear as day.

Knowing that Kanae knew well that Yako would want further elaboration, she spilled all the details about that summer night, and watched with fascination at how Yako's smile broadened as she spoke on.

"...He really said that?"

Kanae gravely nodded and tried to contain a grin of her own.

And Yako's eyes shone with what Kanae and Mutsuki could only assume as happiness as the 16-year-old smiled, her dainty hands covering her broad and widening smile.

* * *

><p>"...Say, how long do ya think those three will take?"<p>

"Knowing Kanae, it will take an hour. How about you, Nougami? How long do you think it will take for them to finish their pep talk?"

Neuro grunted as he turned a page of his book, opting to answer Yukinori's question with a vague, "It will take some time."

They were seated on their usual hangout, the rooftop, as insisted by Neuro—just so he could have a bird's eye view of what was happening on the school grounds. His formidable eyesight had been trained on Yako for quite some time now, and he was feeling a bit miffed that Yako had insisted him to turn off her accessorized listening devices—to get some privacy, she had said.

Yukinori grumbled, tossing his cards on the cloth-laden concrete. Apparently, he just lost a round of poker to Shinobu—and he just lost his ten thousand yen to the bleach-haired man.

Neuro's eyes flitted from his book, to Yako sitting on the school grounds, and back. He wondered what she and her girl friends were talking about.

_Probably something as stupid as make-up._

He inwardly smiled; he fished out his phone and speed-dialled a number he knew all too well.

* * *

><p>Yako's phone vibrated from her pocket and she took it out. Glancing at the number on the screen, she then looked towards the school roof, waving in vain when she realized that Neuro's back was now turned to her line of sight.<p>

Kanae looked at where Yako looked, and she too, waved. Yukinori was looking at them, that's why.

Finally answering the phone, Yako braced herself for the barrage of insults to come her way. And yet, she giggled when the only thing that Neuro said was a clipped, "Go here. Now." And he hung up.

Yako looked at her phone, and that wide smile that was seemingly etched on her face for days to come made Kanae laugh with glee for her friend.

"We better get back, I think. Nougami-_san _might get mad and conclude that we kidnapped you."

"Oh, hush! He just wants me to return so that he could have something to play with."

At this, Kanae's finely plucked eyebrows raised, "And that 'something to play with' is...?"

"Me, of course!" Yako cried happily—and for some reason, Kanae had concluded that her best friend and Neuro were hiding something that was _not meant to be seen by Mutsuki_.

Kanae sighed and shook her head with a resigned quirk of a lip.

* * *

><p>Riddled with scabs and rope burns and bruises, a worn-out Yuuya weakly strode into Honjou Fumio's cardboard office, carrying a stack of boxes with a weary frown.<p>

Fumio, noticing that the bespectacled young man had gray bags under his eyes, commented about his current appearance, "Something the matter, kid? You look like you've been whipped! Haha!"

A barely mumbled, "Actually, I've been through worse than the whipping."

It was then that the Math teacher was perplexed, and appeared concerned for the boy (despite the bubbling laughter he tried to hide), "Care to tell me? I'm good at dealing with people. At least, that's what my daughter told me."

"Oh. No, no. I'm fine," he mumbled dejectedly.

Fumio crossed his arms, "Doesn't look and sound like it, though." Expecting no reply from the sweater-and-baggy-pants clad boy after a few seconds, he resigned himself, shrugging with a frown. "Suit yourself," he said.

A soft scratching sound echoed from the outside, and without saying a word, the cardboard door opened and in came Yukinori.

"Hey, Teach. I'll just hand in the homework now—oh. _You_."

Slitted black eyes slid to his right, and Yukinori's smile immediately turned to a deep frown as he looked at a familiar green-sweater-wearing, glasses-wearing male looking straight back at him with wide eyes.

Fumio's eyebrows shot up from where he stood, leaning on his perfectly sturdy cardboard table, staring at the tense and silent boys standing just a few meters away from him.

"Is there—_something _wrong, Yuki? You look like you've just seen a ghost," the teacher mused out loud.

The platinum-haired student smiled dryly, moreso to himself than to his teacher.

"I just saw a _friend_, that's all."

With eyes glinting like his own spectacles, Yuuya returned the searing look with a stern glare, "So have I."

Honjou Fumio, sensing the tense silence as an unwelcomed visitor, cleared his throat.

"So you two know each other?"

* * *

><p>Students roared in murmurings of shock and excitement as they rounded the hallways, curiosity piqued as they all peered at the school grounds through the pristine and large windows, each pair of eyes widening at the sight below them.<p>

Yako, Neuro, Kanae, Mutsuki and Shinobu were about to go to their classroom when they bumped into a couple of male students.

"Watch where ya'r goin', punk!"

The students hastily bowed as they made no move to stop their running. "Sorry!" they replied in unison.

Neuro hummed.

"Something wrong?" Yako asked. She was sure something was running in that vast mind of his, that hum told her so.

"I sense something interesting."

Just as when she was about to ask him to elaborate, a couple of girls hurried past them. "Hurry, hurry!" they chanted.

And Neuro grinned.

"You're grinning."

"Yes, I am."

"That could not mean good."

So Yako decided to go along with what he was thinking. She pouted and took Neuro's hand, her small feet sprinting towards where the students ran.

Kanae and Shinobu looked at each other and shrugged as Mutsuki hid a giggle (for some reason), and they followed.

* * *

><p>Yako tried to peek through the throngs of students huddled close to the windows. Grunting, she jumped to take a quick look, all of which ended in vain. She was being watched by Kanae and Mutsuki who showed no interest in trying to take a sneak peek. Shinobu shoved his way through the small crowd, swearing at the students as he did so.<p>

Out of the blue, a pair of hands lifted her from her armpits as she was placed on a familiar pair of shoulders, and Yako smiled.

"You should have done that earlier, you know," she mumbled to a madly grinning Neuro, to which he replied with a blank smile and a cheerful, "I love seeing you struggle, you heavy pig."

"Ugh."

Yako was able to peer into what her schoolmates were buzzing on about.

And she gasped.

There, in the middle of the dusty and sunlight-drenched school grounds, were two males, standing and facing each other. One student with platinum-blond hair and one black-haired man whom she knew well from the way he dressed—donned in that green sweater and shapeless excuse for a pair of pants.

Hayasaka Yukinori and Higuchi Yuuya.

* * *

><p>LOLOLOL I love making cliffies. XD Chapter 14 is on the works, BTW.<p> 


	14. Vicis

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: Vicis <strong>

* * *

><p>A hush silence upon the student body as Yukinori moved to take the first hit. From a distance, the males could hear whisperings, whether from the wind or from the onlooking students, they would never know.<p>

"Ya know, I never would've thought she'll do this. I thought she might've gotten someone better than me, but―heh. Look at what she replaced. You're a debauched ass with voyeurism as a hobby."

Yukinori hit Yuuya square in the face, smiling in satisfaction as he heard a distinctive _crack_. Yukinori watched those eyeglasses of Yuuya's flying in the air.

And so it began.

* * *

><p>Small crowds were causing uproar in the halls, vacating all classrooms of all levels to see the fight between the principal's brother and the person unknown to the students.<p>

Some boys were placing bets on who would win the fight.

Yako stiffened as she saw Yukinori throwing a punch at Yuuya's face―she didn't know whether to be happy for that or not.

"Neuro, we have to help him!" she cried as she struggled to get free from his grasp. The only response she got was a haughty huff.

"Who will be helping who? I don't remember being the one to help that four-eyed glob."

"I meant Yukinori-_san_, you idiot!"

"Feh. Still don't care."

"Neuro―!"

Her place on Neuro's shoulders was shaken when they both felt someone tugging Neuro's arm and Yako's foot.

Two pairs of eyes met wide-eyed chocolate ones.

"What happened to Haya?"

"Kanae-_cha_―"

"Tell me!"

"Your utterly worthless ex and your utterly hotheaded boy toy are fighting, obviously."

"Neuro! You don't have to phrase it that way―ah! Kanae-_chan_! ...She left. We should follow her, you know."

A sharp bite to her inner thigh rendered Yako breathless.

"Godai. Go run after the boy-hoarder." And Neuro kicked him on the butt.

A growl and a gnashing of teeth was Shinobu's response, and was about to curse Neuro out when he saw that all too familiar blank smile.

Shinobu wordlessly and quickly ran after Kanae.

A light and futile kick to Neuro's ribs was Yako's retort, and he could hear her grumbling.

"What now? I save you time from running and sweating. Although you could use some exercise. You're heavy."

"Nougami Neuro, I am _not _fat!"

* * *

><p>Yukinori and Yuuya's faces were already tinged with blood and bruises by the time Kanae had reached them.<p>

"Haya! Higuchi!"

At the sound of the panicked and high-pitched voice, the males sprawled on the ground stopped their fistfight.

"Kanae?" they said out loud in unison.

* * *

><p>From the inside of the main building, Neuro grimaced, "Psh. Just when things were about to get good, too."<p>

And Yako tried to clamp his head in between her thighs, "I can't believe you're enjoying this, Neuro."

In response, he pinched her knee, "Well, believe it. It's a nice form of entertainment."

The students watched on, some even brought snacks for the heck of it, and Yako's stomach grumbled.

They watched and murmured as Kanae ran over to the fighting boys, her lips forming in what the onlookers could only assume as yelling―they saw her tugging Yukinori away from the bloodied 17-year-old.

* * *

><p>Kanae held on fiercely to the scowling male, refusing to budge even if it hurts her, "Haya! Stop this right now!"<p>

"What! He started this whole mess! Don't tell me what to do!"

"Haya―!"

"Kanae, if you try to stop me one more time―"

"I will try to stop you in every way I can! You're insane! What will your brother say?"

Their banter and voices escalated further, and Yuuya―who was still fallen to the ground―silently watched as Kanae and Yukinori verbally fought in front of him.

Their voices lowered to a silent hush, echoing the wind that graced their forms―and Yuuya couldn't hear a thing that were saying.

* * *

><p>The buzz of whispers and talk slowly turned to silence as the students watched the unfolding drama on the school grounds.<p>

Neuro merely smiled and leaned his head on the warmth of Yako's inner thigh―externally amused while internally bored; that much Yako knew from his actions alone. In a small form of comfort, she simply threaded her hands through the softness of his ebony and lemon-hued locks.

"The show boring you right now?"

"Feh. Is it that obvious?"

* * *

><p>Kanae jabbed Yukinori on the ribs, brown eyes glaring daggers at black ones.<p>

"Stop it right now―imagine what problems this will cause your brother!"

And Yukinori stopped struggling against Kanae's hold. Black eyes bore into brown ones.

_"Yukinori."_

It was said with a tone of awe and reverence—and possibly as a soft-spoken plea, and Kanae's lip trembled.

The blond grinned at her, black eyes almost shining and smiling back at her.

And for a moment, Kanae's heart almost stopped.

"You know what, I've always wondered what it feels like to hear you say my name, Kanae."

* * *

><p>School day ended with much garbled wisps of stories flowing mostly from the students. For Neuro and Yako, it ended with an anti-climatic turn.<p>

Yako stretched her arms upwards, yawning as she walked with Neuro. "Ahh—I never thought we'd have such a turn of events!"

"Pft. Please. I'd rather watch a snail cross a street. That so-called fight bored me to death. Did you see how pathetic that ugly leech looked after their pitiful fight? Like a battered animal. By the way, that useless Godai couldn't even make it in time to stop the boring show. The stupid wuss tripped on his way down the stairs. He even had the gall to curse at me when he returned to homeroom. Hah! It's not my fault he was born to end up to be such a sad waste of human space."

Yako laughed, as much as she wouldn't want to—_Poor Godai-san_. Entwining her fingers around his hand, they walked at a relatively moderate pace, their arms bumping from time to time as they squeezed their way through the crowded streets. Neuro's hold on Yako's hand tightened, and his jaw clenched, eyes darting quickly from Yako to either side of them, and back.

As they were about to cross the street, a sashaying man with silver hair bumped forcefully into Yako, and Neuro bristled as he quickly yanked her away—grabbing her around her waist—his teeth bared as he hissed at the slightly drunken—and cigarette-scented—man.

"_Watch it, old man,_" he spat.

The drunk grumbled his apologies as he swayed away from the seething blond.

Neuro might have thrown the man over his head had not for Yako's interference. Grabbing Neuro's arm like that, one might think that she was scared.

_...was she?_

Dark green eyes darted over to Yako's small form. She was leaning her whole weight on him, that pale face of hers buried on his sleeve—rubbing on the fabric there.

He could feel her lips mouthing a word on his sleeve.

_Stop_.

And so Neuro held in his temper.

* * *

><p>"...You didn't have to do that, you know. He just bumped into me," Yako defensively stated—her back turned to him—as she deftly dressed into one of Neuro's old shirts. His shirts were still enough to perfectly cover half of Yako's petite frame; their necklines still leave her shoulders bare, often hanging low to her shoulder sockets. Their hems still reached her mid-thighs (or to her knees), and the sleeves still reach past her elbows—at times, his dress shirts would leave too much space for her poor hands, and yet, she would leave them as they were.<p>

Tonight, she was wearing his pale blue, button-down shirt, on which its hems reached her mid-thighs and its sleeves past her dainty hands. The top two buttons and the cuffs were undone—and the fabric felt cool to her skin.

_Or maybe it's because I'm only wearing my panties in this thing. I'm kind of feeling guilty for wearing an O-back tonight...!_

Neuro glared at her, whirlpool green eyes snapping over to her visage when she turned around to look at him, and she clamped her lips shut, bowing as she did so.

Neuro smirked.

_Good_.

"Even so, his filthy self got rubbed on you, and I wouldn't have that," and he continued writing his homework.

Yako grumbled as she sat down on the floor to do her own school work she chewed on a cookie (leftovers from her school bag) as she glared at her notebook. _There's no arguing with him and his possessive streak, huh_.

"...Yako."

"Hm? What is it?"

"I'm cold."

At this, she looked up from her history homework, with bits of cookie remnants stuck on her upper lip as she spoke, "Hm? Well, Neuro, I know that you're cold. But not really the coldest person I've ever known and—"

Yako didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as a binder came flying to her face from across the room.

Why was she sitting on the rough and carpeted floor again? Why was Neuro lazily lounging on his utterly soft and warm mattress?

_I should be there, too!_

"Stupid girl. I meant I'm feeling cold, you insufferable fool."

She grumbled as she rubbed her nose, mustering a glare to that seemingly innocent-looking face. "So?" she asked, exasperated.

"Close the doors."

"Neuro. You're nearer to the doors. The least you could do is stand up and go over—mmph!"

A pillow was thrown to her face this time.

Muttering complaints under her breath as she threw the pillow back to his bed—narrowly missing Neuro's head—Yako stood up and dragged her bare feet over to the veranda and closed the doors leading to the open air. She then turned around and puffed her cheeks towards a blankly smiling Neuro.

"Better?"

"Better. Oh, although you could be my bolster right now—"

"Eh?"

"You don't want to?"

"...I'm guessing you're thinking of something perverted again. Don't look at me like an innocent child."

The moment she walked towards him, he tackled her towards the bed.

They were in the Nougami household tonight—in Neuro's room, to be precise—and the eccentric man was supposed to be teaching her about the history of the Meiji and Edo periods. Zera was out for some late-night grocery shopping—their food stock became empty the moment Yako ate her share of dinner; she profusely apologized to the caretaker for the past hour.

"Neuro, I want to be able to see the morning tomorrow," she huffed.

"Hah! So?"

Yako wheezed out a hitched breath, struggling fiercely in his vicegrip, "So please let my neck—go—! I won't be—gah—seeing the next day—hah—with this—!"

He looked at her, smiling blankly and widely—and when he saw her face turn blue, he scoffed and let go of her abruptly.

Heaving gasps of precious air, Yako—still in her lightheaded state—brazenly grabbed Neuro's hair and pulled him close to her dry lips, the latter widening his eyes at the sudden act.

Dark green orbs heatedly looked at the tightly closed eyes of one Katsuragi Yako fervently feeling his mouth and tongue with much fervor.

He smirked through their kiss.

_Looks like I've trained you well, kitten._

He broke the kiss, to which Yako whined about, and he chuckled at her reaction.

That flushed face and those glazed eyes of hers will forever haunt Neuro's nights.

"I have made a vixen out of you, it seems," he lazily drawled with a knowing smile. His finger traced her slightly swollen lips, liking the way it trembled beneath his touch. "I wonder if I should reward my kitten for such a—_display_—of worship for me."

A hazy-eyed Yako, in return, parted her lips ever so slowly, inviting that slim finger into her mouth. Neuro, amused by the turn of events, let her do whatever she wanted for the meantime.

Encircling his finger with her tongue, Yako closed her honey-brown eyes as her shaky hands held onto his wrist, keeping the now moist finger in place. Neuro silently complied with a lopsided smile, observing closely as she lapped on his digit.

Deeming his finger drenched enough, he removed it from her overly eager tongue and mouth, smirking when Yako let out a soft whine.

"Patience, kitten," he quietly whispered with a sly smile, and he left—leaving a panting Yako on his bed.

He returned not a minute later with a bottle of something that reminded Yako of—

"...Is that hot sauce?"

"I'm not going to answer something that's completely obvious, little minx."

"What's that for...?" she asked, still slightly breathless from earlier. They hardly even done anything yet! And yet here she was, lying on Neuro's bed, completely defenseless and completely at his mercy—wordlessly begging for a bit of release.

Her eyes followed his every move, she watched him sit on the edge of the bed, his back turned to her, and she heard the distinct pop of the bottle cap opening.

Turning back to Yako, he smiled as he dipped his two fingers in the bottle, coating them in a thin coat of hot sauce.

Without any preamble, he shoved them inside Yako's mouth, shocking her in the process.

"Suck."

She hesitantly did as she was told, biting back a retort that the hot sauce was burning her tongue. Brown eyes closed once again as she focused on the spice that flooded her mouth. She hadn't even finished licking everything on his fingers yet when Neuro suddenly yanked them away from her.

She swallowed her bubbling complaints when she suddenly felt an equally spicy mouth swiftly engulfing her own.

Yako felt a trickle of hot sauce being poured in her heated mouth—and in response, she gagged as the liquid hit the back of her throat.

Neuro lifted her head—still not breaking their kiss—as he flipped her above him, effectively making Yako swallow the hot sauce with little trouble. In response, she hummed, stroking his hair and his face affectionately as she did so.

Their mouths tingled from the spiciness and from their kisses—nibbling and biting each other's lips also helped them heighten their excitement.

The sound of heavy breathing filled the air, and when they broke apart, Yako realized why he had chosen such a strange condiment for this act.

"...You sly fox," she giggled as she looked at Neuro's slightly flushed face. It seemed that the taste of hot sauce was too much for him to handle, too.

"I aim for our pleasure, little strumpet."

Her breath hitched at his words.

She dipped her head to his jugular, nipping at the crook her lips touched.

He hummed, smiling appreciatively at her efforts to please him.

"I think I should store more spicy foods just for this purpose. It sounds... fun."

The wicked grin he sported as he looked at her swore hidden promises that would definitely leave her body hot and bothered in more ways than one.

Yako looked at him, and noted that his lips were still tinged with redness, and she couldn't help but grin at the sight. His eyebrow raised, imitating her wide grin, "Like what you see?"

She hastily nodded.

"Good. It just shows how much I've trained you well."

At this, she cocked her head to one side, her expression inquisitive, "Trained me?"

"Trained you on who you really belong to, of course," he coolly replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Mister Possessive strikes again, I see," she cooed, humming at his impishness.

"Heh."

A harsh and resounding slap to her bottom made Yako gasp and snap her neck upwards.

"That's for calling me names, strumpet."

She whined, and without meaning to, Yako unconsciously rubbed her hips and buttocks back to his palm.

Neuro barked a laugh, "Oh? Is your masochistic side winning over your rational thinking again? Are you losing your control?"

The only reply he had gotten from her was a dragging moan and a half-hearted nod.

Yako was sure—as she couldn't exactly see his face, with her nose buried in his neck and all—that she heard and felt him grin, and judging from that soothing rumble of a hum from his throaty vibrato, he was pleased.

And a pleased Neuro had always been a blessing to Yako—she would always get all the rewards he promised her. In this case—

—it was an all-out spanking session.

Not that Yako complained at all, oh no! On the contrary—

—it was what she secretly longed for him to do.

_It's been... what? One year since the last session? I've lost track. __  
><em>  
>Yako's lengthy mewls and whines resonated in the room, and the stinging sound of palm hitting supple flesh echoed within the walls. He could slowly feel his palm becoming a tad too warm and prickly from the repeated slaps, and with a glance at Yako's now writhing fabric-clad buttocks, he lifted the shirt's hem to gauge the damage his handiwork had done.<p>

He saw pink skin, warm and raw from being repeatedly slapped—and he grinned, licking away the drop of drool that threatened to drip down his mouth.

Neuro deftly plucked one of the thin strings of cloth that barely held onto Yako's stinging bottom, his grin widening even more as the cloth hit her raw skin, "Exactly what _are _you wearing, louse? A bunch of strings that emphasizes your bubble butt?"

The humor laced in his voice assured Yako that Neuro wasn't mad for her audacious choice of underwear—in fact, she deduced that he was amused at the sight.

"It's an O-back, Neuro. Not a bunch of strings," she mumbled with a pout.

"O-back or T-back, I don't care what it's called. Did you wear that this morning to school?"

Yako's eyes widened. _That's what he's worried about?_

And she laughed.

His brows furrowed as he tightened his hold on her, "I find it hard to see the humor in what I had just asked. You find this funny?"

"N-no, silly!" she defended, laughing still. "I just find it amusing that you would care about what I wear beneath my clothes."

"Of course I should. I wouldn't want some filthy mongrel to set sights on what's mine—accidentally or not. Besides, that computer-freak is still on the prowl. Who knows what he'd do if he sees you wearing this thing?"

For emphasis, he slapped her butt cheek once more, earning a gasp from Yako's voice box and a series of scratches on his bare chest—from her nails. Neuro hissed and smiled.

Yako idly wondered why he chose to show her some of his skin—not that she complained. _Maybe it's because we're alone? And when did he do that? _

"So you're saying that only you have the right to look at me, is that it?" she asked, pouting at him.

"I believe I have told that to you for the twenty-fifth time since last month. Now, don't change the subject and answer my question."

"And you're actually keeping count! ...And no, I did not wear this to school this morning—or yesterday. Or the day before that. In fact, I had never worn such a thing as this one—only tonight. There, happy?"

Her tone was light, playful, and a small smile was blooming on her face as Neuro eyed her with what she could assume as pride—for her.

He guffawed, and he kissed her pouting lips with a toothy grin. His hands proved to be quite adept at undoing things. With one flick of his finger on Yako's barely covered cli—

_"Neuro-sama? Yako-sama?"_

—Neuro quickly threw a blanket over Yako's lower body and pushed her to his side of the bed, ignoring the girl's muffled grunts. He growled as he glared at the door.

With an audible snarl, he fished out the thickest book near the side of his bed, an encyclopedia, and hurled it towards the opening door—

—whacking an unsuspecting Zera straight to the face.

The resounding sound of a splat and a wham coupled with the inevitable sound of cracking bones—_probably his nose! Hah!_—was music to Neuro's ears.

The book fell painfully on the Nougami caretaker's feet.

"Do try not to foolishly and spontaneously open the door without any thought of precaution on what lies behind it next time, Zera. I think you should know by now that I don't want to be disturbed when I'm with my kitten. Especially if she's in my room clad only in her sleepwear. Who knows what unmentionable things you might see if you'd just barge in without my word of consent?"

Zera tried not to cry from the blossoming pain on his nose and feet (and from the leering threat hanging from Neuro's words). With a stiff bow and a quivering lip, he looked at the carpeted floor with teary eyes, "It won't happen again, Master!"

"That's what you said the last time. And you almost saw her changing into her bathrobes."

"But I didn't—"

"Zera."

And Aomi Zera scuttled away from Neuro's wrath, shutting the door shut as (s)he quickly left with a high-pitched squeak that only a transvestite could have.

Throughout the whole ordeal, Yako's face was buried beneath the blankets.

Eyes still glaring at the door, he huffed, "Strumpet, you'll suffocate yourself if you keep on doing that."

A muffled, "Bu' I'm not wearing my bra—!" was her response.

So Neuro helped her by straddling her blanket-covered body, effectively trapping her beneath a sea of white.

Her head quickly popped up from the covers, her face flushed and hair disheveled as she glared at a blankly smiling Neuro.

"Oh? So you've decided to show your hermit self to me?"

She surprised him by muttering a quiet, "I want more."

He smirked.

He knew what she meant.

He just wanted to see her squirm.

"More of what?" he impishly asked, and he couldn't keep the tone of maliciousness from his voice.

"More of what you did to me earlier." _Oh, this is embarrassing!_

"Oh? You mean me throwing a blanket on your stupid face? Why, of course I can do such a thing!"

"I didn't mean that, dummy!"

Neuro's eyebrow raised, his lips turned to a seemingly eternal smirk.

"Oh? Then what _ever _do you mean, hm?"

Yako's cheeks turned as pink as her thoroughly slapped bottom.

"I mean 'spank me' you oaf!"

His fanged teeth gleamed at her hazy gaze.

Yako didn't notice it when Neuro had chuckled and said something about her being "a good slave"; she didn't notice it when she had turned over her stomach, elbows propped on the mattress and her rump raised in the air. She didn't notice it when, ten stinging slaps later, she was still shamelessly begging for more—despite the soaking underwear that drenched her skin and the tender flesh that showed signs of bruising.

Neuro didn't stop spanking her until Yako's body trembled and her breathy voice weakly cried out his name.

Basking in the afterglow, Yako's senses cleared the moment she felt her buttocks being fondled in the gentlest way possible—from Neuro's point of view.

She suddenly felt very tired.

"Falling asleep?" he crooned, and he didn't press further when all she said was a barely audible moan.

Her mind could only register the velvety voice singing words to her muddied mind.

_"Good girl, Yako. You did very well tonight."_

She felt a light kiss being pressed upon her forehead, a Grecian nose being buried in the crook of her neck, and a half-naked body being draped over her own.

And all was black.

* * *

><p>Mutsuki, Yukinori and Hisanori were seated in the principal's office, breathing slowly through their nostrils as the sound of shuffling papers met their ears.<p>

Yukinori angrily stood up, his chair hurling noisily behind his feet as he glared at his stoic brother sitting in front of them with a barely there smile, "_Aniki! _This is not my fault, ya know! 'Twas that stealer's fault! Kanae was mine b'fore he came along!"

"Hush, brother. You already received your justice, have you not? You got Kagohara-_san _in the end."

"Yeah, but—"

"Then there is no need to cause such a commotion now, is there? Yukkichi got what he wanted, isn't that enough?" Mutsuki piped from beside Yukinori, sipping on her cup of tea as she coldly looked at the teenager from the corner of her eye.

Yukinori snapped his mouth shut, his teeth clicking audibly as he did so. _Trust that face to change from a cherub to a she-devil in milliseconds flat._

"Yukinori. Sit down."

He did just as so, grumbling curses beneath his breath as he sat on his chair, huffing.

Mutsuki sighed as she put down her empty cup of tea on the china saucer, "We already have enough problems as it is about the Turk and the Scot, no need to immerse ourselves in the mud."

Yukinori laughed, scratching his head as he eyed the girl, "Ya know, if Katsuragi were ta see ya righ' now, she wouldn' believe 'tis ya. Ya li'l devil."

She giggled, a sound that befitted her innocent appearance, "And that is why I love my friends. They wouldn't shun me for who I really am. I highly doubt _nee-chan_ would send me away simply because she knew who I really am. Did you see how much attention she's showering on Neuro-_nii_? Despite her knowing that he's almost like a domineering devil, too?"

"I'd say he has her completely wrapped around his middle finger. That freakishly controlling man."

Hisanori simply smiled throughout their conversation, opting to listen in instead of joining their numerous opinions about their classmates.

The constantly smiling man cleared his throat, and its sound got the younger Hayasaka and Mutsuki's attention.

"Yes?" the teenagers asked in synchronized unison.

"Now that I have your attention," he started, smiling calmly and clasping his fingers on his table as he eyed them with squinted eyes. "I was thinking of cleaning up this mess once and for all. And you two will help me."

Yukinori hummed, his brows scrunched in confusion and his lips curled in an unspoken question as Mutsuki simply nodded and smiled a sly smile of her own.

"I'm guessing Hisanori-_jii _wouldn't want to say this to anyone outside of the family?"

The elder man leaned back on his chair, shoulders slack as he opened his eyes as wide as he could, its beady black orbs glinting through heavy eyelids.

"Of course not. Not even Godai-_kun_, if you want to ask. He's not really involved in this, even if he is skilled in the field of spying and suspect interrogations—even if he did help us in setting light to the truth through his methods. This issue will remain inside the family. That Turk and Scot, along with that new technician, started this mess on my school, and I will _end it_."

Hayasaka Yukinori and Miyasako Mutsuki smirked—their smiles depicting the devils behind their stoic façades.

* * *

><p>Yako was awoken by a shuffle of a finger tickling her nose—a light-hearted joke from Neuro, if one would observe.<p>

"Wake up, slug," he cheerfully cooed as he shoved his index finger inside her nose roughly.

Yako merely groaned as she simply swatted the offending finger away from her nose. He complied silently, smiling playfully still.

Yako stirred the moment she felt the blankets leave her thinly clad form, its warmth being cruelly stolen from her.

A quiet grumble of complaint was heard from her lips as she creaked one eye open, her sights setting on the culprit.

"...Neurooo... Gimme back my blanket—"

"First off, the blanket is mine. Second. It's morning. Now, get up."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because it's a Thursday, stupid."

"Eh―then why are you still in your ruined shirt―!"

"Because there's no class, numbskull," he muttered as he heaved himself on her weary body. "School called earlier. They said they'd set up an urgent meeting today at nine. It's for the parents and guardians only. Students don't count. That smiling fox is up to something―I can sense it."

Yako struggled to breathe and tried to gather her incoherent and sleep-laced thoughts, "Oh. Then I'm assuming Aomi-_san _is at the meeting? Did the school call my house?" She grumbled, opting to ignore his last statement, as she felt the weight of Neuro's body leaving her own.

Neuro cackled as he rolled over her, ignoring her cries of complaints, "Of course he is! He's my sorry excuse of a guardian, after all! And yes, your mother called here earlier to inform you that they'd be going to the meeting. Now get up amoeba, we have work to do."

"Neuro, what for―ah!"

He lifted her over his shoulder with a madman's laugh, turning a deaf ear to Yako's screams of protest as he patted her still sore bum.

"Where are you taking me, dummy!"

"Oh, hush up. It's not like I'm going to drown you."

"Then where are you taking me?" Yako asked calmly than she was a few seconds ago. She noted that she was technically talking to Neuro's slightly swaying hips and buttocks―_not really a good thing to look at at early in the morning, I think; but they look firm_.

Yako blinked and slapped herself.

_What the hell did I just think to myself!_

"Having a senseless inner dialogue, louse? I can tell from your sudden upper body stiffness over there."

"I was just thinking that your ass is bumping on my face right now, and I don't like it."

"Oh, is that so? Well, in that case..."

Neuro paused, just outside the bathroom door, blankly smiling as he patted Yako's thigh.

"In that case, I would just have to pass some gas―"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Heh."

He opened the door and harshly placed Yako on a large bucket of ice.

She immediately yelled and threw a fit as she struggled to get away from the stinging bite of the ice―

―though it would be hard for her if he kept on squeezing her flat on the surface of coldness.

"Neuro! Your clothes are getting wet!"

He paused, and took a moment of consideration with a small pout, and when he looked back at her―he was smiling blankly.

"Oh, right. I forgot that you still look decent and unfit to be worthy of sitting on a bucket full of ice!"

That cheerful tone could not mean well.

Yako could barely let out a squeak when all she could make out was a veil of light blue blurring her vision; she shut her eyes closed.

She heard the distinctive sound of buttons popping and flying to the tiled floors, and the ominous sound of cloth being carelessly ripped in half.

The dreadful feeling of experiencing a draft throughout her whole body was something that she never expected.

_I should've known that when I'm with Neuro, nothing goes as expected._

"There, all done!"

Yako opened her eyes and shrieked as she babbled incoherent vulgar words―her hands fumbled as she hurriedly tried to cover her exposed flesh.

"Neuro―!"

"Just sit still, will you? That's an order."

She puffed her cheeks and reluctantly did as she was told, and at this, Neuro smiled. "Good. Now just sit there for 15 minutes. That should cool you down."

Yako, with her mouth agape, tried to argue with him, but the moment she moved just the tiniest bit, the ice seemed to prick through her skin in the most soothing of ways.

And it dawned on her.

"Oh…"

The devilish leer that bloomed on his face was apparent, "'Oh', indeed."

And so Yako sat still on the cool cubes of ice, her thin arms wrapped around herself to cover what little modesty she had left in front of the man who had just undressed her in the most forceful of ways. _Trust him to be so rough about everything._

Curling her toes, she hid a smile—bowing and staring at her bare thighs as she muttered a soft thanks to the male, who now had his back turned to her. Neuro smirked as he glanced at her. His ruined shirt that she wore mere moments ago was now in his hands; it seemed that he had no regrets to what he had done to his own clothes.

"Now, about that sore butt—"

"Neuro, you are not going to spank me today."

At this, he turned around, amused at her blatant rejection, "Oh? Why not? I can still clearly remember how much you _begged_ me to do it to you—and quite roughly, too. Shall I repeat it again so it will be burned in your forgetful mind?"

"No."

He placed his torn shirt on the counter, smirking widely still, "Oh? Why, that's too bad. I was thinking of giving you a reward for your kitten-like submission last night."

"Eh? But wasn't that the reward?"

His thin eyebrows rose, lips curled in a fiendish smile, teeth glinting at her caramel eyes as he stepped over towards her almost completely naked form―_that flimsy underwear is still on her, I see_―his whirlpool green eyes bore serpentine tricks. A devil-may-care being was smirking down at Yako, and she couldn't quite help but be entranced at his penetrating gaze.

"Oh, silly kitten―that was just a taste of what you would get if you please me."

His voice droned in her ear, making delicious shivers run down her now goose-pimpled flesh. Cherry-hued lips parted as an onslaught of hot breath fanned over her sensitive neck.

"Little slave, we're only just beginning."

Yako swore the coldness of ice beneath her buttocks suddenly felt hot.

* * *

><p>Bustling activity had been going on since early morning, students excited of what the principal has to say at the morning assembly. The large auditorium buzzed from all directions―students sat on the front, each class of each year level divided in boy and girl groups, while parents and guardians sat on the back. It was a Friday, and they were excited for the coming weekend―planning trips and meeting places for group mixers and whatnot. Neuro sat on the fifth row, keeping his ears alert as his eyes roamed on the third row of seats, and when he did find what―or <em>who<em>―he was looking for, he smiled, sharp, black-green eyes softening at the sight of Yako's hair. Those hairclips of hers really gave her away.

She was talking to her friend―_Kana-something_―in her usual bubbly self, arms gesturing and facial expressions morphing from smiling to outburst laughing.

His smile widened just a tad.

"Ya really like her, huh?" asked Shinobu from beside him, a lone milk pocky stick clamped in between his teeth―to stop the cigarette cravings, as he had once said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Neuro replied calmly, still smiling as his eyes never left Yako's form.

"Why won't ya just admit it that ya like 'er? 'Ts obvious that she returns yer feelings. Though I don't really see what she sees in ya," said Shinobu dismissively, shoulders shrugging as he leaned back on his chair with his eyes closed, unknowing of the blank smile that crept to the taller male's face.

Neuro craned his neck to Shinobu's side, green eyes distant and smile blatantly wide and blank, and with a light chuckle, he grabbed and broke the end of the pocky stick on the unsuspecting man's mouth―

―and ground its remains on said unsuspecting man's ear.

"―graaah!"

The roaring wail of one Godai Shinobu echoed on the auditorium's walls, some students looked at him warily. Neuro, on the other hand, smiled triumphantly at the flailing man who was struggling to remove the pocky crumbs from his ear.

Curses aimed at the tall blond could be heard audibly, but Neuro paid no mind.

Yako and Kanae, too, heard the quite unmanly squeal, and they looked behind them―laughing at the sight of Neuro smiling blankly beside the flailing Shinobu.

"Nougami-_san _did something to him again, didn't he?" Kanae observed, still giggling, as she looked at Yako. Yako merely laughed as she turned her eyes back to the podium―she had an inkling as to what today's assembly would be about.

Yukinori and Mutsuki have been oddly mum the entire morning, and Yako knew that they were keeping something from them. _An order from the principal, perhaps?_

The sound of heavy footsteps could be heard, and the board of teachers and the head of the Parent-Teacher Association ascended the stage from behind blue-painted walls. They sat on the vacant chairs on the far edge of the stage, their eyes locked with some of the students. The student body slowly hushed, their sights now focused on the people looking at them from the high platform.

From behind the looming, navy blue curtains, there appeared Hayasaka Hisanori, clad in his usual dark gray suit and perfectly matching and perfectly pressed slacks, along with that ever present smile. His mere presence commanded respect, and the auditorium fell completely silent as he went over to the podium, his narrow eyes scanning the faces of his students and their parents.

Deeming their silence proof enough that all eyes and ears were on him, he cleared his throat.

"Good morning, students, teachers, parents. Today, we welcome you, parents, to today's morning assembly, and―I will cut to the chase," he breathed, smiling, tight-lipped. "The events of what happened a few days back―of which I know the students have heard of―was something that the school has never expected to happen. A teacher, who is supposed to be the role model of every student, who is supposed to cultivate the minds of the future leaders of the nation, has been blinded and muddied by the sin of doing the taboo―of having illicit relations with a student."

Murmurs and harsh whispers suddenly filled the room, heads turning and nodding at their seatmates as their mouths flowed with gossip; the parents sat behind the students, faces scrunched in grimace and disgust and worry for their children.

A palm was raised to the audience, and the crowd hushed.

"Yes, yes, I know it was a huge mistake to let such a teacher mislead the mind and feelings of a promising student..."

From the audience, Kanae whispered to Yako, "The principal doesn't know his students yet, it seems." And Yako scoffed, "Oh, I highly doubt that. He's using flowery words to cover what he really wants to say." Kanae's eyebrow quirked, "How did you know?" With a sly smile, she whispered a quiet, "Ask Yukinori-_san_." And Kanae understood what she meant.

"...and because of such an incident, we promise to be more strict and vigilant on hiring new teachers, we would put new barriers between students and faculty, set rules for the betterment of this institution—the names of the students who have shed light to such a disgraceful act will be withheld, as to not give them a chance to be riled up by questions of unimportance. The parents," his hand motioned to the audience, at the back, near the wide doors, to where the parents sat, "have agreed to this decision, and will respect the privacy of their children, should their own child had been the one who initiated the discovery of such an act. Nevertheless, I encourage you, students, parents, and fellow teachers, to keep on the guard!"

The audience waited with bated breath as he paused with his slightly raised fist clenched, his jaw tensed. It had been a few minutes since his smile had faltered, and the students knew that he was now dead serious.

He had been looking at them with his eyes wide open.

It could not mean a trifle thing.

"Because of such an incident, we, the PTA and the board of teachers, have decided to hire a person capable of guarding the students' safety and keeping the institution free of malicious acts."

Students murmured at each other, others stayed silent. Yako looked back at Neuro. His eyes met hers in a fleeting glance, their lips set in a grim line.

A man dressed in a dark blue suit stepped up from behind the stage, beaming at the audience with sparkly whites.

Neuro and Yako's eyes widened.

The boyish man had spiky black hair, large black eyes that emitted innocence―

―and a voice that Neuro and Yako remembered all too well.

"Good day, students! Starting from next week, I will be the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A!" he cheered.

Yako smiled―beamed―at his enthusiasm. Bridling her joy, she turned to look at Neuro, knowing full well that he had not forgotten this person standing on stage.

As she expected, he was rubbing his temples, a frown marring his marbled face. It was his sign of recognition—his way of unconsciously telling others (in this case, the observant Yako), that he wouldn't really want to deal with the person speaking on front. Despite it all, Yako giggled, for she knew that, in a way, Neuro owed him a bit of knowledge what he now knew of the world.

"Yako? What's so funny?"

"Well, you see―when we were in elementary, we were placed in different buildings, right?"

Kanae nodded, not seeing the point of bringing up their elementary days.

Yako's smile never faltered, "So you wouldn't know who my teachers had been! That man on the stage, you see―" And she discreetly pointed to the joyful-looking man on the podium.

_"―I'm Ishigaki Jun! 'Stone wall' for Ishigaki and 'bamboo shoots' for Jun! I handle History and Japanese! Please take care of me!"_

And with his arms stiffly placed on his sides, he bowed, and his head bumped the microphone, sending screeches to the speakers overhead.

From the audience, Neuro covered his eyes in shame for the new teacher.

Well, his old-new teacher.

Yako grinned at Kanae, "―that man was my and Neuro's homeroom teacher in third grade."

* * *

><p>Second semester had been zooming in full swing, and before the students knew it, it was now getting close to November. Cold winds bite the people's faces, enveloping them in a blanket of aerial ice. Neuro and Yako have been getting along in their strange way of showing their affection—Neuro, through his daily tortures on her, and Yako, through teasing him at night with her gossamer and provocative choice of nightwear.<p>

Tonight was one of Yako's weary nights.

After their school work had been done for the day, Neuro had been more than his usual playful self towards Yako—often messing with the insides of her blouse through her overcoat by using his socked feet during breaks or trying to remove her bra through her thin blouse with his expert toes. Yako chose to ignore his advances; she was already used to it.

The sound of running water could be heard from one of Neuro's bathrooms—Yako was in the shower, washing away the dirt of today's school festivities with warm water cascading down her body. The scent of Irish spring fills the steamy air.

Emitting a sigh, Yako looked around, taking notice of the items displayed in front of her for the first time.

_Irish spring body wash. Mint-scented shampoo. A hair conditioner. Milk soap. A facial wash. Hm._

Pouring a decent amount of shampoo on her hand and lathering it on her hair, her heart immediately skipped a beat.

_I smell like him._

She suppressed a wistful sigh, closing her caramel eyes.

The thundering of water raining on her naked form temporarily made her deaf to her surroundings, and she failed to hear the soft sound of a click.

Soft footfalls resounded with the cascading water, and Yako was startled when a familiar voice spoke a little _too _loudly near the shower curtains.

"Zera! After you're done there, go fetch the evening newspapers and—"

The shuffling of the curtain hooks chafing with the curtain rod was heard through Yako's pounding ears―

―and the sight of Nougami Neuro standing in front of her, clad in only his jeans and undershirt, quite dumbfounded and wide-eyed, made her screech and cover her most intimate area clumsily.

"Neuro! Get out!"

And the large bottle of shampoo came flying to his face.

He immediately slouched and shielded for cover.

"What the hell are you doing here, you slug!"

"I should ask you the same, asshole! You know the bathroom's occupied―!" and the bottle of conditioner came hurling at his arm.

"You didn't lock the door!"

"Well, I thought that was already common sense to you!"

"It's also common sense that you lock the damn door when you're in the bathroom! And it's not like I haven't seen all of you―"

Yako's right arm halted her next throwing weapon―the body wash―and she puffed her cheeks, "It's also common sense that you shouldn't just barge in when someone is in the bathroom! Even if it's Aomi-_san_! And you haven't seen all of me, you dumbass!"

"Heh. This is my house, maggot. I can just barge in. And let me rephrase that, then. I have seen _almost _all of you. There," and he stood tall once again, smirking down at a shamefaced and flustered Yako, "happy?"

And he relished the scarlet hue that bloomed on her face.

"Oh, a tomato would be so _jealous _of you right now."

Yako turned her back on him in an instant, hands still clutched to her privates. She was somehow grateful that she hadn't chucked the body wash yet―it became her makeshift shield from his eyes―

"Doesn't matter if you turn your back on me. The view over here is nice, too. I can see a few bruises healing now from last week's session―"

"Don't look dummy―"

"And why shouldn't I? We're going to get married, anyway―"

"But we're not married yet!"

Silence. Silence hung heavily in the room―save for the pattering noise of the water on tiles. It served as their grating white noise.

It was a tiny word that made Neuro grin in triumph.

"...Yet?"

Yako audibly gulped―her eyes wide and her heart racing as her shoulders slightly shook. _I shouldn't have said that!_

Yako chose to ignore the word that fell from Neuro's lips.

"Do you mean you're considering it?"

Her voice choked on her throat, "I didn't mean that I would consider―"

"But you did say 'yet'. Which means you have been thinking about it."

She could almost see and _feel_ the devil's smile that inched its way to those nefarious lips. _Oh._

A step towards the bathtub that housed the naked Yako―a sound of thunder seemingly clapped through her ears.

Another set of footsteps came almost galloping towards the bathroom.

Neuro growled and immediately grabbed the―thankfully not transparent―shower curtains and yanked it shut, dividing him from Yako. She let out a relieved sigh when she turned around.

"Neuro-_sama_, I heard screaming! Are you all ri―"

A shampoo bottle smashed to his face the moment the Nougami caretaker opened the door.

"We're all right, Zera. No need to bother us. You may leave."

The caretaker was about to quickly shut the door when―

"Wait," he mumbled, realization dawning on his face. "Neuro-_sama_... Did you just say... 'us'?"

At this, the blond turned, his face formed in a frown as he glared at the older (fe)male, "I did say 'us'―you have a problem? Oh, and before I forget... Do pick up the evening newspaper for tonight. Do so in two minutes and three milliseconds or you'll find yourself without your utterly worthless make-up and your utterly worthless face."

That menacing tone sparked fear in Zera's veins―and he squeaked as he ran away, shutting the door closed with all his might.

Huffing, he yanked the curtains open once again, startling Yako who was furiously washing her hair.

"Neuro―"

"Just―stop talking for once."

And he stepped inside the shower, clad in his jeans and all, burning green eyes never leaving the expanse Yako's wet skin.

A gasp was heard in the stillness of the room. The steam and hot water combined―coupled with those ethereal evergreen eyes―made Yako's senses fuzzy. Her back met the cool, tiled walls, her shampoo-lathered hands stubbornly stuck on the swell of her chest.

His lean arms trapped her unmoving form―a lopsided smile painted his lips as he looked at her.

"Now, what were we talking about again? Before we got so rudely interrupted?"

Yako tried to push him away as strongly as she could while trying to maintain as much of her modesty as possible, grumbling something about him being a pervert—he never once denied it to her, though.

Apparently, the suds sliding down her neck were of little help.

Grinning widely at her, Neuro inched to her reddened ear, "Those suds are about to disappear from your body, you know. And―

He cupped her nape, his nose burying on the crook of her chin. He relished the purr that she suppressed in her throat.

_"―I can see all of your body."_

Yako saw white―and green, green, _green_.

The spray of warm water mingled with their body heat as he kissed her on the lips, once, twice―and he nibbled her lobe, smirking at her still.

"Don't worry, little kitten. I won't do anything to jeopardize your chastity. As you and I once said―we're still too young."

He could practically feel her melt in his arms―_from relief, maybe?_

"...Though we _could_ frolic with ourselves for a few moments of our solitude. Seeing as we're... _alone._"

"But we're clearly _not _alone," Yako mumbled on his wet undershirt. "Zera just came swooping in and―"

"Hmm?" he droned, "I see no difference. It will do that thing good for his pathetic life if he would just erase what he had just seen from memory."

"But Neuro, we can't just―"

"Just―hush, Yako."

And his mouth was on her, devouring all of her, trying hard not to push his lower body to her nakedness.

His clothes felt heavy on his skin as he pried her thin arms apart, revealing her small but full breasts to him.

His mouth watered at the sight.

_"Beautiful."_

And he kneeled and swooped down on her.

For Yako, it was the first time hearing him compliment her small and frail body.

She suddenly felt like a queen.

His hands roamed over her chest, her hips, to her bare buttocks, purposely avoiding her venus mound―

―it was not the time to directly touch her there. He might lose all of his carefully-trained control should he do so.

And he wouldn't want that.

Sucking on her bare and dewy skin, she relished the fact that he was tall―him kneeling on the bathtub only made him look like he could only reach the top of her bosom; and she was grateful for that.

Should he touch her _there_―she was afraid that she might lose her restraint.

And judging from the way Neuro was (deliciously) manhandling her breasts and buttocks―

―well, she was sure she _would _lose all of her control.

They sighed. Yako tilted her head back as Neuro harshly sucked on the curve of her bust, stifling a gasp as he growled on her skin, sending luscious shivers down her body. Unconsciously bucking her hips to him, Neuro immediately held her still.

She whined.

He looked up at her, whirlpool green eyes ablaze and lips curled into a sinister grin.

"Kitten. The fun hasn't started yet. Don't spoil it for us."

And Yako moaned at his promising words.

* * *

><p>From the recesses of Zera's room, the transvestite was covering his ears while huddling blankets over his head.<p>

"I did not see anything. I did not see anything. I did not see anything...!"

Five minutes passed.

He had forgotten Neuro's threat and order.

* * *

><p>Jun had proved to be as spontaneous and carefree as he was when he was still a grade school teacher—Neuro and Yako had re-introduced themselves when he first entered Class 1-A. Neuro blankly smiled when Jun cringed. Their new homeroom teacher apparently could still remember that brave and free-spirited boy who had the bad habit of biting his classmates' foreheads when they would upset him. It also seemed that Jun became trodden when he realized that small young boy had grown up to be so <em>damn tall.<em>

Too bad Jun hadn't realized that Neuro's habit remained perfectly intact with him throughout the years—albeit he had been doing it only to Yako since their fifth grade.

It had only been after two weeks that Yako decided to have an idle chat with her teacher when it had been her turn to clean up the classroom. She had been putting away the class's History homework for the day when she saw Ishigaki Jun typing his fingers away on his computer screen.

She had asked him what he had been doing for the past few years since she and Neuro had left their elementary school, and he had only laughed, talking about this and that, about how he had met someone who had become a vital reason to be what he had become now—and according to him, it was why he was teaching at Yako's school. Temporarily.

"—and so he says that he had been a police officer for quite some time now, and was doing the whole teaching-in-our-school thing because Hayasaka-_san_ requested it. I wonder why?"

"Frankly, I don't mind him returning at all. It's just that he's too much of a buffoon to be noticed by my eyes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mister All-High-And-Mighty. I didn't know people's existence irks you," and Yako giggled.

"I do have an idea why the foxface is doing an undercover investigation."

"Do tell me why."

"Only if you beg on your hands and knees―"

"You're not my God, Neuro."

"Oh? We'll see about that tonight."

Yako's face turned scarlet at his innuendo-filled words, and she buried her nose deeper into her too-large of a scarf―it was Neuro's.

The cold air was stinging their faces as they walked down the crowded streets of Tokyo, their hands linked together as they squeezed past the people passing them by.

"Yako. Stay close."

"I know."

Turning to a corner, they saw someone familiar doing something that they supposed was suspicious.

Yako cried out, "Jun-_sen_―mmph!"

And Neuro narrowed his eyes at her as he muffled her mouth.

She nodded and kept silent.

Evergreen and honeyed orbs peeked from the corner of a wall. Yako, despite heeding his warning, still had her mouth completely covered by Neuro's overly large hands.

From a bystander's point of view, the tall blond and the small brunette looking exceedingly suspicious.

Neuro looked at Ishigaki Jun's back. He was still wearing his stuffy gray suit, along with a small notepad and a pen in his hands as he observed a young, redheaded woman clad in a skimpy black dress walking down one of the shady alleys down the street.

The green-eyed man grunted and, without removing his hand on Yako's mouth, he lifted her by her thighs and carried her like how a father would to his three-year-old child―Yako immediately buried her head on the crook of his neck.

Without sparing the suspicious teacher a glance, Neuro walked away as though he saw nothing. Yako remained silent.

It wasn't until they were about to cross the street that Neuro had put Yako down safely on the pavement.

"What was that about?" she asked as she held his hand, and she noted how Neuro looked as though he had won a lottery―that wide and ominous smile crept to his face, and his eyes almost shone like the sunset reflecting through their eyes.

"That foxface's pawns are getting good. Using that nosy teacher as an eagle eye."

"What do you mean?"

Sparing Yako a glance, Neuro elaborated, "He's using Ishigaki as an investigator to keep a track of Tubulik's moves. That redhead back there was the she-wolf."

"But I thought Hayasaka-_san_ disposed of them? Yukinori-_san _told us so."

"He did dispose of them―although it was not in the way you thought it would be. You were thinking that the Fox killed them, huh?"

She nodded meekly, lips drawn tight as they neared the street to the Katsuragi household.

Neuro cackled, abruptly letting go of her hand and grasping her shoulder instead, pulling her close to him as they walked.

"Just because the Hayasaka clan is involved in the underground movement doesn't mean that they have to _act_ like brutes and bloodthirsty beings. Although your way of thinking is accordance with mine. I'd rather have them thrown in the nearest ditch―lifeless. Same goes for H-_tan_."

Yako wrapped her left arm around Neuro's waist, giggling. "I see you've given Higuchi-_san _a name. It sounds befitting for him on certain occasions."

"Psh. That thing doesn't deserve to have a name, let alone have an existence in this earth. And yes, the name does fit it well, doesn't it?"

"So he's an 'It' now?"

He only smiled.

Neuro neared the steps of Yako's home. Taking out the house key from his uniform's pocket, he opened the door with a soft click.

"We're home!" they said in unison as they removed their shoes and entered the house.

One thing that Yako noticed as they entered was the surplus of shoes that were sitting near the door―and from the inside, she could hear talking.

"Guests, maybe?" Neuro shrugged as he stretched his shoulders and walked ahead, leaving Yako pondering by the doorway.

"I'm going to eat your dinner!" Neuro hollered, and that immediately snapped Yako out of her thoughts―running after him with an excited squeal.

A muffled cry of laughter was heard from the living room as Neuro and Yako passed by. Looking at each other skeptically, they peered by the doorway and―

"Kanae-_chan_! Mutsuki-_tan_!" Yako cried, and Neuro groaned as he slapped a palm to his forehead. The girls were sitting on the sofa, munching on some chips while Haruka entertained them with stories of her own teenage life―some parts of the story were better left unsaid to Yako, though. Haruka beckoned her daughter and Neuro over to where they sat, although Kanae smiled at Haruka and told her it was fine.

Kanae stood up and went over to Yako in a flash, mumbling apologies to Neuro when she almost made Yako trip backwards―all the while, the green-eyed man merely stood beside his little maggot, smiling blankly.

She pushed a puzzled Yako away from the door, and away from earshot―Neuro followed them (still blankly smiling). Kanae didn't mind.

"We have to talk, Yako."

"About what?"

Kanae looked at Yako, then at the now poker-faced Neuro, and back. Her brown eyes were hard and her brows were furrowed as she held her friend by the shoulders.

"About what that slimeball did to you."

A handful of persons that reminded Yako of a slimeball came to mind, but none really registered as Kanae's acquaintance. "Which one?" she asked jokingly.

Kanae's lips set into a grim line, her jaw taut and her shoulders rigid as she spoke one name.

"Higuchi."

* * *

><p>Fifteen pages this time! :O Dang, I'm breaking my record. XD If anyone's wondering why I made Neuro call Higuchi H-<em>tan<em>, it's because the Japanese people pronounce the letter "H" as "_ecchi_", and we all know that ecchi means "perverted". :3


	15. Mulcerem

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: Mulcerem <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Playlist for this chapter: You Belong to Me by Lifehouse, Mo Ghile Mear by Celtic Woman, Hallucination by Yuuya Matsushita, No Style by Kinya Kotani, Predilection by Kappei Yamaguchi, Singin' Love 4U by Seki Tomokazu, Bosanova Casanova by Takehito Koyasu and Seki Tomokazu, House of Love by Takehito Koyasu, Hyakuman Kai no Je T'aime by Takehito Koyasu and E.T. by Katy Perry. Yes, I need this constant playlist for each chapter to keep the ideas flowing, and yes, most of the songs I keep on playing on repeat are Koyasu's songs simply because he voiced Neuro. :D

* * *

><p>It had been three days since Kanae and Mutsuki's visit in the Katsuragi home, and Yako had been feeling a bit fidgety ever since―often rubbing her face on Neuro's clothed arm or chest at night to ease herself of the tension, to which Neuro had complied without a word of complaint.<p>

Kanae told Yako that Mutsuki had been telling her―Kanae―of the things that they were doing about the recent spur of scandals in school. The sudden ousting and replacement of the basketball team, the expertly-made picture of Yako with one of the basketball players, the disgraceful leakage of the Tubulik-Ewing scandal―little Mutsuki had revealed it all to Kanae, along with Higuchi Yuuya's involvement of it all.

The brown-eyed girl at first refused to acknowledge such information from the small blonde, but when she had asked a tight-lipped Yako that night, Kanae had took it all slowly, digesting the information to bits in her befuddled mind.

It was also then that Yako had revealed to Kanae the real reason why Yuuya had entered their school as a technician―it was at those times that Godai Shinobu's spying skills were put to excellent use. Neuro had told the girls that it was he who had commanded Shinobu to do the questioning of the staff―and when Neuro had found out that it was Honjou Fumio who had been inadvertently feeding Higuchi Yuuya information about the school and its students and faculty, it was then that Neuro had set up a plan into motion―

―a plan to permanently ban Higuchi Yuuya from their school through the means of a crippling school scandal, effectively making him a part of Hayasaka Hisanori's long list of "persons to eradicate".

And it proved to be a quite foolproof plan.

Yako gobbled down her twenty-eighth slice of pizza with a quick swish of her cola, unfazed by the stares she (and Neuro) were receiving from some of the customers and employees alike.

The two of them were already gorging on their seventh serving of a family-sized, Hawaiian Supreme, topped with extra pepperoni and cheese pizza. That, and adding the bonus of the plush sofas, soft lights, glazed cream walls and the peaceful atmosphere of the place seemed to settle Yako at ease.

Because Yako had been having two nights of unrest, Neuro had decided to be nice for the meantime, and opted to treat her to a meal―because he wouldn't want her to pass out from hunger and insomnia in the middle of the spanking session next week, though he never actually told her that.

"I'd like to have another serving, please! Oh, but this time, I want the Seven-Cheese Supreme you're having, miss. Please and thank you!" Yako piped as a waitress passed them by.

―Neuro was extremely relieved that he had brought his credit card, solely for the purpose of satisfying their combined appetite. _It's times like these that I'm thanking that sorry excuse for a couple for giving me a monthly supply of cash._

Taking a gulp of his orange juice―without ice or a hint of coldness―Neuro hid a smile as he glanced at Yako's form. The pinkness on her cheeks was returning, her skin was returning to its normal glow, and her caramel eyes were becoming bright once again. She was not being sluggish anymore unlike the past two days, and her movements were becoming animated once more.

Hooded dark green eyes smiled.

_Food is her fuel, after all._

"Hm? Nwuo? Ish something w'ong? Y'don' like th'hot sauce?"

At the mention of the condiment, Neuro chuckled behind his glass, his mind remotely elsewhere―he would never look at spicy condiments the same way ever again.

"Nwuo?"

Neuro grinned wider. It seemed that his little kitten remained clueless to what she just uttered. Her mind was clearly set on food at this moment and nothing else.

"Swallow your food before speaking, glutton," he chided quite playfully, opting to poke at her cheek with a straw from Yako's glass of soda. He blankly smiled when the coldness of the plastic pricked her swollen, pizza-stuffed face.

She quickly did as she was told, beating her chest with her fist gracelessly as she swallowed too fast. Neuro watched her with fascination―smiling in that tight-lipped manner of his―as Yako gulped down a full glass of water.

"There, better?"

"Definitely. Now, maggot, as much as I would love―not really―to stay here and wallow my stomach away in eating all of this parlor's pizzas, I'm afraid we have to cut our meal short."

Yako pouted, wiping her lips with a table napkin as she glared at the smiling man in front of her, "But I already ordered another one."

With a lazy flip of his hand, Neuro huffed, "Make it your last."

"You're not going to eat anymore?"

"I've had my share, piglet. Besides," he then pointed his middle finger to the direction of two swinging doors at the back of the counter, "the chef in the kitchen is probably crying tears of blood right now for us eating all of their specialties."

"Well, they should be glad someone's eating them. It's not like we're mooching off of their food."

"Don't pout, piggy. Your order's here."

Yako perked up once more and beamed when the plate of pizza was placed in front of them. Neuro noted with interest that the waitress was quivering as she put down the plate, eyeing them with somewhat akin to fear as she hastily left. He shrugged it off―apparently, Neuro (and Yako, unfortunately) have been already gotten used to such treatment. Wolfing down everything in a few minutes, Yako sighed contentedly.

"Satisfied, kitten?"

Yako nodded, eyes still closed in bliss.

Neuro paid for their meal―as was promised―a hefty amount of thirty-two thousand yen was slashed out of his credit in an hour for food alone.

As they left the high-end pizza parlor, they could distinctively hear crying from the inside. Neuro stifled a hearty laugh.

Walking down the streets, with Yako's arms linked to Neuro's (as it was too cold), they were startled when a dark figure zoomed past in front of them and suddenly draped its heavily-dressed form on Neuro's feet.

Some of the passersby looked at the fallen person with curiosity.

Neuro, however, as cold-hearted as he could sometimes be, merely kicked the face of what he assumed was his would-be attacker. He ignored Yako's cry of protest not to hurt the person.

The kick sent the figure donned in a brown trench coat and stiletto heels away from Neuro's feet, though the tall blond merely scowled when the woman, as Yako concluded, had attached herself to his feet once more, clinging to his leg with her seemingly tight grip. Neuro tried to shake his leg to shoo her off, but she wouldn't budge.

Then it dawned on them.

There could only be one person who would do such a thing to Neuro.

"Jennifer Ewing?" they both asked in perfect unison.

* * *

><p>The small, local police station in Shibuya district was in a fit of tension as Jennifer Ewing sat on a chair; Yako and Neuro were sitting two meters away from her, their backs stiff and straight on the back of their chairs. The walls of the office were crisp and white, and decorated with a picture of a police mascot on the door, along with several framed documents and papers and whatnot that lined the walls. The glass windows showed the passersby and the vehicles that were buzzing on the streets. It was a typical station that littered the district―and it was a place that Yako dared not to venture to unless necessary.<p>

Tonight was one of those 'necessary' situations.

The officer sighed as he scratched his bald head, "Let me get this straight, miss. This young woman here suddenly clamped onto this young man's leg and refused to leave you two alone, is that it?"

Yako nodded stiffly. They have been telling the same story for five times now, and Yako was getting close to chucking the officer's head with her boots. Still, her face showed no emotion.

"And this young woman tackled both of you when you two absolutely stated that you were in no way planning on conversing with her?"

Neuro and Yako nodded.

The officer thinned his lips, eyeing Jennifer with apathy, "Well, we need another version of this story. Um, young lady? What's your name?"

With her eyes downcast, she croaked a mumbled, "Jennifer Ewing," in her perfectly executed Japanese accent.

"A _foreigner_?" one of the officers asked. "A foreigner is being a nuisance to the Japanese?"

Yako glanced nervously at Neuro, who was sporting a small smile. _He's enjoying this. Neuro's not full Japanese, either._

The officers were about to question the redhead further when the door opened, revealing a man that Neuro and Yako knew all too well.

"Jun-_sensei_!" Yako exclaimed, and it startled the black-haired man.

"Eh? Yako? Neuro? What are you two doing here?"

* * *

><p>Dim lights and cold, silver-hued walls filled the vast and bare room of one Hayasaka Hisanori. Seated upon a chair fit for a king, Hisanori eyed Ishigaki Jun with a barely-there smile; the younger male stood in front of him, his lips drawn tightly.<p>

"I take it you've got something to report today, Ishigaki-_san_? Seeing as you look like you're on a suicide mission," Hisanori joked, his smile barely reaching his eyes as he idly toyed with his fountain pen.

"Ewing got reported to my station today, as you predicted would happen."

"_Oh? _Do elaborate."

"She was reported by those two."

Hisanori's eyebrow arched. He knew the persons the officer was referring to, "I'm assuming it has something to do with her unhealthy obsession for the man?"

Jun nodded, "Apparently, the Scot was creating a ruckus in the streets earlier. Meddling those two's affairs as they were walking home." He took out a notepad from his pocket and flipped two pages, "According to some of the onlookers, she was, 'pathetically clinging to that young man's leg'; and another report states that despite the two proclaiming that they don't want anything to do with her, Ewing repeatedly tried to 'worm her way to that tall's one's crotch'―I think these reports summed up the issue."

The elder male cracked his tiny eyes open and slid his sights to his left, huffing and grimacing in annoyance, "She's on the prowl again, I see. That Turk's not good enough for her, it seems. Or maybe he intentionally let her out of her leash again? What do you think, Ishigaki-_san_? Should I take care of them completely? I have enough pawns to do so. I won't let those insufferable foreigners damage what I have worked so hard for my little brother."

"Ah, but Hayasaka-_san_―"

The sound of a wooden chair's legs meeting the muffled screech on the plush carpet halted Jun's speech.

"Ishigaki-_san_, thank you for your assistance. You may now retire for the night," Hisanori muttered as he fished out his phone from the confines of his expensive-looking, designer brand suit, "I need to make a call, if you don't mind." The tone was silent, calm even, although Jun was sure that it was an unspoken command to tell him to back off _now_.

Jun clamped his mouth shut and closed his eyes as he bowed, his shoulders and arms stiff as he did so, and quietly made his way to the door.

As he left, he heard Hisanori letting out a lilting and cheerful tone, "The next time you see Eishi, please do say hi to him for me, Ishigaki. It's really a pleasure to have you working for me, as far as the current circumstances would allow."

Ishigaki Jun smiled widely at the mention of his other boss's name, and he saluted the principal as he left.

The young officer suddenly didn't mind it at all that the elder male deliberately left out the honorific on his name as he left the room.

* * *

><p>Yako and Neuro had met up with Kanae, Mutsuki and Shinobu after their run-in with Jennifer the other night. They had met up in Shinobu's boss's ramen house, and had talked about things that surrounded the strangeness of a certain Scot. Yukinori hadn't come over as expected, for he relayed to Mutsuki that he had matters to attend to involving his brother. Kanae merely concluded it as a brotherly bonding while Neuro and Yako thought otherwise.<p>

Their late afternoon chat had turned to poking fun at Shinobu's ridiculous work uniform that consisted of a black pair of slacks, a white apron, a plain tee and a not-so-manly maid's cap.

Needless to say, Mutsuki had the time of her life when she authoritatively called Shinobu her "Maiden Gocchan".

Tonight, Neuro was staying in his own home, arranging the freshly-bought books from Yako. He had bought another glass-encased shelf for the sake of the books' preservation, and had hummed all the while while he was doing the task.

Zera had observed his charge closely. He had been doing so since he started working for the Nougami family―and for the caretaker, it was quite clear that the young man was, undoubtedly, in love with the Katsuragi girl. Oh, if only she knew what kind of family she'll be marrying in the future...!

...she'll be having a hard time dealing with the vast Nougami property abroad. The businesses, the wealth, the social statuses, the _main house_...!

He shivered at his last thought. No. There was no need to think of that now. His master made it painstakingly clear that he wanted nothing to do with the main house―it was the reason why he left, after all.

Zera sighed as he washed the plates. _But he'll have to deal with those things someday. He's still carrying the Nougami name, after all._

Tonight, his master had been humming in his room. A quite strange behavior for him, if he should say. Not that he'll actually say it to his face. Who knows what he'll throw to his face should he say such a thing?

He smiled. Despite his worries, he was confident that that young lady could take all those issues in stride. She had proven herself worthy of his master ever since the day the caretaker first laid eyes on her. She was the epitome of loyalty and perseverance and unconditional love qualities that one Nougami Neuro had been searching for from his parents.

Nougami's ever present hawk eye had been observing her since the day they met, and Zera was sure that through Katsuragi Yako, the Nougami name will continue.

Zera nodded and smiled to himself. _Now, I wonder if it will be a girl or a boy for them...?_

* * *

><p>The steam of the warm water fogged the bathroom's mirrors, and in the middle of the room, there lounged Yako in a bathtub, immersing herself in a milk bath.<p>

She was smiling the whole time she was bathing, scrubbing her skin with bath salts as she sung.

Deeming her body clean and pruny enough, she stood up and pulled on the plug of the tub, drowning the sound of her singing with the drone of the water flushing.

Neuro was not with her tonight, and she knew that he knew why he shouldn't be with her for a week.

Checking her dewy and flushed face in the foggy mirror, her eyes roamed to her neck, which was Neuro-mark free of the night―_I can wear sweaters without turtlenecks tonight!_

She giggled to herself as she put on her panties lined with a perfectly aligned pad, and she draped on her bathrobe as she left the bathroom. It was times like these that proved Neuro was a gentleman, despite his rather odd behavior at times.

As she was about to enter her room, she heard her parents talking rather loudly from the ajar door to their room. Yako would have left it at that until she heard her name being spoken.

Ears perking up in interest, she silently went over to the slightly open door, craning her head so she could see her parents through the tiny gap.

"―Yako would be fine, dear! Why do you keep on insisting that he's a danger to her?"

"Haruka, listen. Boys at that age have these insane amounts of hormones and―"

"―and you're assuming Neuro is one of those boys? Honey, that's being unfair! _He_ was the one who saved our daughter from those kidnappers! _He_ was the one who had always looked out or our daughter when they're at school! Or at the restaurants! Or anywhere at all! He's been there for her since they were seven, Seiichi. What more do you want from him?"

There was a pregnant pause from within the room, and Yako was afraid that should she let out as much as a short whiff of breath, she would be caught eavesdropping.

Haruka, whose back was turned to Yako's field of vision, hushed her voice in a soft-spoken manner, "You know what, dear—I'll tell you a little secret on what keeps me trusting our dear Neuro."

"So he's 'ours' now?" Seiichi chortled, mirth seeping from his voice.

Haruka giggled and leaned closer to her husband, whispering, though Yako could clearly hear them still.

"Neuro always drops off our daughter here from school, right?" she asked, lips quirked in barely-concealed happiness, and when Seiichi nodded, she continued.

"Well, Neuro returns to his house at certain times of each month, right? And he would always return to our house after a week. He has been doing so since he was eleven, dear. I've noticed it."

Seiichi, not following his wife's train of thought, scratched his head as his eyebrows scrunched, "So?"

Haruka sighed heavily. Her shoulders slumped as she regarded her husband with mild irritation. Placing her hands akimbo, she whined, "Oh, dear. Sometimes, you're as thick as a brick. The times when Neuro would simply drop Yako to our house and quickly return home are the times when Yako has her monthly period!"

Seiichi, and unbeknownst to them, Yako, raised their eyebrow as Haruka further explained. It appears Mother knows what Neuro has been thinking of during those times, Yako thought.

"How do you know such a thing?" Seiichi asked, and hidden behind the doorway, Yako nodded, as though agreeing with what her father just asked, and Haruka groaned as she soundlessly stomped her bare foot on the carpet.

"I'm a woman! And I'm her mother! Of _course_ I would know such things! I notice the changes in her body when her ovulating time comes, and I'm sure Neuro has noticed it, too! He's no fool—he's a smart boy who, at times, knows too much scientific explanations. Besides, she'll always eat more than usual during those times, so I'd know when she has her monthlies."

"And this sums up _what_?"

"Ugh. Men are so difficult sometimes! During a female's ovulating phase," she explained, her index finger pointing at her tummy, "aside from the obvious mood swings and the temporary changes in her body, her hormones would kick up ten notches and would be more prone to urges!"

His eyes still wide, as though a bucketful of cold water had been doused on him, Seiichi mindlessly plopped on the mattress and his mouth dropped open, "So that means—"

"_That _means that Yako and Neuro are doing their best to be chaste by setting boundaries whenever Yako has unspoken urges every month! And that alone is enough for me to trust our daughter to him! Besides, she gets irritable during those times, so having them to be separated during those days would be a blessing to both of them. No unnecessary and sudden fights or a petty couple's quarrel!"

Seiichi suddenly looked deflated, as though a huge burden had been thrown over his weary shoulders, "It's not like I don't want our daughter to be with him... I can see that he loves our child more than his own life, and―have you seen how much of a living shield he is whenever he's around Yako? I―I want someone like that for her, it's just..."

"...they're too young. But I know they won't easily give in until they're really ready to support themselves, I trust them on that. Besides, you gave him a duplicate of our house key, remember? It means deep down, you really trust the boy, just as how much I trust him," Haruka quietly supplied as she sat down with her husband on the edge of the bed, smiling fondly at him as Seiichi buried his face in his hands, and she wrapped an arm around him.

And Katsuragi Seiichi smiled, tears forming from the edges of his eyes as he stared at his hands.

"I want to live long enough to see what our grandchildren would look like. I want that Nougami boy for our little girl."

It was then that Yako quickly but silently turned around and went straight to her room, fighting back the tears that were about to shed as she smiled and sniffled.

* * *

><p>The sound of small cries of meowing could be heard coming from Neuro's phone on the side of his bed. Green eyes glancing at the bedside clock, he answered his mobile with a curt, "Having cramps over there?" while smiling blankly. And the only reply he had gotten from the other line was a light giggle and the distinct sound of shuffling bedsheets.<p>

Yako mumbled her greetings to him, a seemingly unspoken ritual to them since they were fifteen. Neuro was used to Yako's nightly ramblings about how painful it is to become a woman, and he verbally jabbed at her with his "personal words of wisdom", as he once said―_try removing your ovaries with a butter knife next time so you won't bleed from the inside anymore_ or maybe even a quick, _try laughing hard while you're in that phase_ or his infallible, insult-Yako-on-her-period phrase, _make sure you won't get fat on eating all the chocolate in your house_.

Hearing Yako's cries of whining from pain seemed to always calm Neuro, for he knew she was crying from an act of their nature and not from some emotional strain―though he once read that females suffer from deadly mood swings whenever they're on that phase.

He recalled how he had first encountered a very moody Yako. They were eleven at that time, and he did not know a thing about how the female body functions. It had been a peaceful night back then, until he had heard Yako wailing and panicking while restlessly shaking his arm.

Recalling and talking over their newfound discovery that night forever changed Neuro and Yako's views about their gender differences. And it was then that Neuro, after finding out from a levelheaded Haruka―the morning after Yako's tear-filled night―that girls always go through such a thing every month, he had decided there and then that he would keep distance from her during those days, in order for them "not to commit an irreversible sin against their family names", as he once said to a sniffling, eleven-year-old Yako.

Neuro laughed over the phone, hearing Yako eat a bagful of what he assumed was potato chips (judging from the sounds of crinkling and crunching), and Yako responded by whining with her mouth full.

"There will come a time when we won't have to be separated like this anymore―be sure to wait until then," Neuro cooed to a now whimpering Yako. It wasn't until past one o'clock in the morning that they decided to call it a night, and Neuro made sure that Yako's hairclips were in their listening mode, so he would know if Yako would have any problems aside from her monthly periods of woe.

* * *

><p>"I wonder if we should use <em>kinbaku tonight. It might be fun."<em>

"Neuro, just because my parents will be out for a week doesn't mean that we should do _that_."

"Hah, you say it as though it's such a filthy word! And don't try to complain."

"You're right. I shouldn't complain... Because you're doing it to me right now!"

"Heh."

Bound with Neuro's leather belt and blindfolded with her own school necktie to the headboard was a uniform-clad Yako, sans her socks―whimpering and writhing under amused and watchful green eyes.

Her top blouse's three buttons and the zipper of her skirt were all open for the impish Neuro to see, granting him a peek of her tiny, white undies beneath her wrinkled uniform.

Yako raised her knees, mouthing something incoherent, unintentionally granting Neuro more access to her underwear-covered bits, making him smile wider at her rumpled form.

Neuro's shameless fantasizing was cut short as he heard a knock from Yako's bedroom door. Tapping Yako's lips twice, knowing that she would do as she was told―and patting her head when Yako suddenly felt silent―Neuro opened the door, intentionally obscuring a smiling Sonobe Miwako's view of a scantily clad Yako all erotically bound on her own bed.

"Nougami-_kun_, is Yako-_chan_ in there?" Yako heard, and she could almost _hear _the faux innocent smile Neuro must have plastered on his perfectly marbled face.

"Yes, ma'am, but you see... Yako is asleep at the moment. Practice at the coming sports festival and all."

Yako heard a small clap from the door, and a small laugh from Miwako.

"Oh, that's right! You two are already juniors now, right? Ah, how time flies! It must be hard on you two, but I know you two will be supporting each other, no matter how tough it gets!" Miwako cheered as she patted Neuro on his arm, and, remembering that Yako was 'asleep', she muffled her mouth shut, laughing still―and Neuro himself couldn't contain the laughter, he chortled, for a different reason altogether.

"I'll be leaving for a few days to visit my family on the countryside. I just wanted to inform Yako-_chan _that. I already told the master and mistress earlier on the phone. I'm sure you'll take care of her while we're gone, right?"

A light chuckle and wide bright green eyes greeted her, "Why, of course I will, Sonobe-_san_! I have always treated her like how I would if she were my newly-wedded bride!"

Yako felt her ears turn red as Miwako laughed lightheartedly, and muttered a joke about the two of them already falling head over heels with each other, and Neuro had replied that he will see Miwako out, as to not further delay his alone time with his kitten.

Returning a few seconds later, Neuro saw Yako trying to struggle free out of her restraints, and he merely sighed.

"I should have used hemp rope on you so it'd chafe you more."

"You wouldn't dare," she mumbled, her breathing shallow from struggling so much. Even so, the sight amused Neuro, and he sat down beside her, caressing her slightly moist lips as he stared at her exhausted form.

"Oh, shall we test that theory?"

"Neuro, don―ah!"

The feeling of something rough pressed painfully upon the skin of her thighs and ankles, and she whined as her skirt was yanked free from her waist.

"_Oh,_" he mumbled, dark green eyes almost glinting at the revealed sight of Yako's milk skin, "what do we have here?" And as though an innocent and playful child, he curiously tugged on the cool and smooth fabric that hid Yako's secret.

"It's spandex," she explained, and when she felt something―_a finger!_―lightly brush against her inner thigh, she shivered involuntarily.

"And I suppose it's supposed to make the person wearing this feel... what's the word... ah. _Sexy_?"

The moment that word left his lips, Yako let out a small cry as her back arched and her hips bucked.

A pair of searing lips hovered close to Yako's sensitive ear, "You _came_, little kitten. Is my voice affecting you _that _much? To the point of orgasm?"

Yako merely groaned as a reply, and tried to feel the touch of his fingers upon her skin once again. When she did feel him, however, a light tap was delivered to her damp, panty-clad region―and she let out a low moan.

"And it makes you more sensitive!" Neuro quipped excitedly, his eyes and grin wide as he observed her writhing form. His inquisitive fingers traced the fabric of Yako's smooth and thin underwear, humming as he felt her curling her toes from the ticklish sensation he was giving her.

Snapping the elastic to her skin, and enjoying the way Yako whined, he could not contain his child-like joy as he dived to her inner thighs and licked her there.

Yako's low and appreciative hum was music to his ears.

"You should wear more of these," he mumbled as he traced the smooth, white panties that Yako donned, "it makes you look―_ravishing_."

The way he muttered his last word was euphoria to Yako's senses, sending her to overdrive as she bucked her hips closer to the feel of his breath fanning against her now heated skin. She heard him chuckle as he nipped on the edges of her panties, licking on the skin exposed there.

That was a high praise coming from Neuro, and Yako gleefully stored it away in the recesses of the dark and dirty part of her young mind.

"When did you buy this? I've never seen you wear one of these before," he idly observed. Neuro suddenly became quite fond of the little piece of fabric covering Yako's nether regions―as it was smooth and softer to the touch than cotton, he would want her to wear more of it, simply because it makes her more sensitive to his touch.

"Two weeks ago when you were back at your home."

"Oh. I suppose it's safe to say that you were feeling quite frisky that time, huh? Hormones raging during that time and all."

It was then that Yako panted for breath as she frantically shook her head, trying to free her makeshift blindfold from her dampened brown eyes.

Neuro guffawed, "Want me to release you so soon, kitty?"

"But―"

"Hm? But what?"

Her answer came out in short puffs of breath as her chest heaved for precious air―the loose ropes bound around her ankles were itching her skin, and her hands badly wanted to be free.

"...touch," Yako whispered.

Neuro hummed, a pleased smile painted on his devious lips as he tickled her with his breath. "Say it louder, kitten. I didn't hear you."

With a choked cry, she whined, "I want to touch Neuro...!"

"Really, now? Show me how much you want me, little strumpet."

Bucking her hips frantically while licking her glossed lips languidly, she whimpered a lone word.

"_...more._"

The tingling feel of his fingertips hovering on her blouse made her feel ecstatic. Deft fingers quickly unbuttoned her rumpled uniform, revealing her pale skin.

"I guess I have to release you now―wouldn't want to ruin your uniform now, would I?" and with that, he released her bonds, and Yako's arms immediately swept around his nape, and her legs wound around his hips as she nipped on his ear playfully. Neuro liked the attention.

"I see you haven't removed your blindfold."

"You didn't order me," she replied, rubbing her body against his as she did so.

"Oho! You want _me _to order you?"

"Only when we're in bed," she retorted quickly as she smiled. She knew what he was thinking.

"Oh, my little Vixen has a very raunchy mind! What's going on in that wicked brain of yours, hm?" he quipped, and he removed her blouse harshly and unhooked her underwired brassiere, relishing the relieved sigh Yako had just emitted.

"Things I'd rather not say right now, seeing as we're not married yet," she muttered, craning her neck to give him access to her exposed skin. She heard her poor bra being thrown to the dresser.

"So you really are considering it."

"Only because you're so insisting on such things way ahead of you."

"But I should be ten steps ahead so you won't be stolen from me," and Neuro untied her makeshift blindfold, making Yako squint in the process.

"And who would be 'stealing' me from you, may I ask?" and it was then when she finally took in Neuro's appearance. Hovering on her almost fully-bare form was a half-naked man with scrumptiously lean muscles and pale flesh, tantalizing her greedy eyes. Caramel orbs slowly looked down, and she gulped as her mouth dried.

Unbuttoned and slightly open black slacks covered his modesty in a form of a black-hued pair of boxers peeking from beneath the slacks hanging precariously from his well-toned hips; and should she squint a bit harder, she could trace a faint outline of his steadily growing bulg―

"Like what you see?" he asked, opting to ignore her question instead.

And without thinking, she whispered a soft "yes" while absent-mindedly licking her lower lip.

Neuro's eyes grew ablaze. Green orbs devoured her obviously aroused form, and without second thought, he swooped down on her and ravaged her mouth; Yako reciprocated quickly.

Setting his hands upon her attention-seeking bosom, his skin flared for the warmth she emitted, and his mouth throbbed for her flesh.

Opening her dampened eyes, she peeked through her eyelids and saw his face flushed and his dewy eyes tightly closed, the contours and hollows of his cheeks moving along with each slide of his tongue in her too-eager mouth. Brown eyes shifting to her right, she saw his uniform dispatched quite carelessly near her closet, its fabric too wrinkled as it lay like a heap on the floor.

Eyelids fluttering closed once more, she focused her senses on his fervent touch and his ardent kisses, the sinew and flesh of her aroused self burning at his undivided attention. Her knee raised to his straddling form, nudging the stiffening lump of muscle with the slightest bit, and he knew what she silently suggested, but he reigned in his carefully-built control.

One arm sweeping around her waist, he lifted her, and he switched their positions, him below her, her above him. And she paid no heed as she continued to grind her scantily-clad womanhood to his gradually hardening self, relishing the dangerous friction they both were deliciously suffering from.

It was then that his hands shakily returned to her unclothed form, back to the softness and smoothness of her pale white flesh, and his breaths came out in short gasps and quivers through the hollow of his agape mouth, lips grunting and soundlessly cursing as she kneaded her self upon him.

Control was steadily slipping from him, and he reigned it back as his hands slid to her gyrating and hypnotizing hips, pressing his thumbs to the silkiness of her flat belly, and her hands went up to the flexing and rising of his supple and delectable-looking chest. Newly-trimmed nails raked the warmth of his searing flesh―leaving tell-tale signs of her quite sadistic mark on him―and Neuro arched his back and his head tilted upwards in unbridled ecstasy, his Adam's apple bobbed as he uttered her name in a soundless gasp, and Yako fell upon him, grinding her hips restlessly on him still. She failed to notice when he had become as stiff as a board yet soft as the firm flesh of her thigh.

"Almost―almost―" and Yako's hips swerved to his stomach as soon as she felt liquid heat trickling from Neuro's clothed self―trying her best to evade his liquids as she, too, spilt on his taut stomach.

Their breaths mingled as the seconds ticked by, the calming curling of toes served as a release for their post-euphoria. Yako remained blanketing Neuro in all of his half-naked glory, satisfied with just hearing the quick thumps of his heartbeat through his rising and falling ribcage. Neuro held her loosely, his arms draped around her waist and the back of her head, his cheek rubbing against hers in an affectionate way―such was his reaction to her that she couldn't help but to tenderly kiss his cheek, and the latter returned it with a pair of lips meeting her own.

Moments like these were rare to Yako―for Neuro to be so romantic after such a thing happened between them, she couldn't help but think what he would do once he had taken her to the fullest.

Her breasts cradled his face, and she could feel his breath tickling her skin. A dart of a tongue licked the puffiness of her teat, and goose-pimpled flesh appeared on her skin as he took all of the softness her humble breasts had to offer. Squeezing his face in between her chest, Neuro's hands travelled to her back, smothering himself to her warm and snug breasts and to her equally warm buttocks, squeezing those peach globes shamelessly as he sucked on her, all the while, Yako panted for breath as her mouth fell open from a very lewd sound that came from his lips, and her skin tingled as he hummed on her now hard nip―

A low groan emitted from his lips as he ground his hips upwards, fondling her bottom with a sharp and resounding smack, and Yako choked a cry as the dampness of her panties got wetter, and she spun her hips restlessly on his stomach once again.

"Warm... So warm..."

And Yako moaned at his words, and his lips inched to her ear, whispering words of affection said in the dirtiest way possible. A drop of drool trickled from her mouth as he murmured what he wanted to do to her fleshy and private bits.

"―and then I'm going to suspend you with a silk rope while I'm pounding you rough over the edge. Do you want that?" he didn't wait for her answer, and with a lone finger teasing the entrance of her virginity through her nylon-spandex panties, he breathed huskily, "How about a little present for you?"

"Eh?" it was all Yako could thoughtlessly utter as Neuro reached at the bottom of her drawer and rummaged through the back of her underwear-filled compartment. "What are you doing?" she asked listlessly, her mind still in a daze after coming once.

A flesh-colored thing made out of silicon skin―seemingly wriggling in his perverted hold―was pulled out of her drawer, and her mouth watered as Neuro neared it to her face, waving it a bit as the elongated, strange-looking thing wobbled slightly.

A wicked smirk crossed Neuro's face, almost splitting his cheeks as his fanged teeth winked at her with a hidden promise, an evil glint shone in his whirlpool green eyes, reflecting Yako's wide-eyed look through his expressive irises―and a deep rumble of something that was akin to a moan and a whisper crept to her reddened ears.

"_This _is what they call a 'dildo'―"

Yako's face immediately turned as red as a beet, her eyes widened as she gulped at Neuro's sudden words, him inching close to her now dry yet swollen lips.

_"―I'll be using this to you on our wedding night."_

And Yako came for the second time.

* * *

><p>Walking down the school halls as a junior student certainly had its perks.<p>

Yako's hair was longer than it was last year, wavy locks barely touched the back of her neck, her bodily curves were still developing, and there were the lascivious stares she continued to receive from men of all levels in their high school.

Neuro's presence deterred them all, though.

Having the highest general weighted average in the academic areas in his year level, having the imposing figure of an unapproachable man, having the most striking eyes of dark green melted with black (the most appealing feature of him from the freshmen females), and standing at a whooping five feet and eleven inches (he was the tallest student in the whole school), Nougami Neuro was the most popular student in the whole school—

—and Yako was in the same league of school popularity as he was.

Walking down the school hallways hand in hand, Neuro and Yako were considered the epitome of the ideal couple by most females, and the ultimate coupling fantasy by the males. All eyes were on them, seniors and freshmen alike, looking at the enigma that was Neuro and Yako. Some brave-hearted souls greeted and bowed at their presence—surprisingly, the seniors mostly—and some of the freshmen followed suit.

Yako's caramel eyes tried to focus ahead and not to wander from side to side, but it was hard for her to do so—

—seeing as she was being the topic of some of the female students.

_"I saw Yako-sama with Neuro-sama the other day, and they were eating quite endlessly from the new restaurant down in Ginza." __  
><em>  
><em>"Yako-sama is lucky to have Neuro-sama as her boyfriend. See that ring on her finger? That was given to her by Neuro-sama." <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"No. Way. That means that she's his fiancée!" <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"I know! Neuro-sama gave it to her on White Day, I heard." <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"Aw, that's so romantic!" <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"I know! I wish my boyfriend was like that...!" <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"Well, <em>I_ heard that Yako-sama had Neuro-sama wrapped tightly around her finger—"_

_"It's the other way around, I think. He's _always_ all over her. Literally." __  
><em>  
><em>"Did you see the way he was holding onto her during PE? Like she's going to disappear if he lets her go...!" <em>_  
><em>  
><em>"Oh, yes, I've seen that! How about the time when he slapped her butt on the track meet? It was a loud one, I tell ya! She yelped but didn't tell him off! I'd say he's good at getting it on in the bed!" <em>_  
><em>  
>And the girls chattered and giggled on about, squealing every now and then as they gazed at Neuro and Yako's retreating backs.<p>

Yako held a sigh, opting not to talk until they made it to their homeroom.

"Those girls won't stop yapping about you, you know," Yako mumbled bitterly as they neared the sliding doors.

"Are you jealous, then?" Neuro was amused at her puffy cheeks and furrowed brows and pouting mouth.

"'M not jealous!"

"Says the leech clenching my hand in jealousy."

Yako stayed quiet as she slid the doors, entering the room with a quite noticeable pout. Sitting on her seat, still huffing her cheeks, she knocked her head to her desk, arms hanging limply in front of her legs.

She didn't notice it when her body was being lifted from the safety of her seat. Letting out a squeak as her thighs were hoisted in Neuro's arms, her eyes roved about, and she buried her head in her hands in humiliation.

Good thing Kanae and Mutsuki were the only ones in the room.

"Are you mad?" Neuro asked with a grin, and he laughed when he saw her cherry red face. She shook her head. He purred near her ear.

Indeed, what the students at the hallway were talking about earlier was true. Neuro had given Yako a ring on this year's White Day. Yako had given him a surprise he never had expected from her—bathing him on Valentine's Day in her skimpiest lingerie (a sheer white, lace-embroidered babydoll that he wetted thoroughly so he could see her through the cloth)—so why would he deny her of a worthy reward? Besides, after that crash course with the "toys" he had shown her last night, she seemed to be more than prepared to explore unchartered waters with him.

The ring he had given her was a unique, customized peridot and brown sapphire-encrusted band, lined with the finest white gold. Its stone was made out of the finest green diamond, a chrome tourmaline, cut into the shape of a circle secured by a platinum-lined frame. It was a hard one to find, having to make the ring the way Neuro wanted it. Calling the jewelry dealers throughout Japan and abroad—secretly, of course, he didn't want Yako to know how much of a pain it was to get the materials he wanted—he had the rings made all the way from Germany.

Only the finest for his favorite, favorite little kitten.

Neuro himself wore the same ring as hers, only the bands and the stone were wider, to properly fit his large finger. It was a huge feat to try to not to gag Yako whenever she would ask him how he got such a thing—_"First the choker, and then this!"_—really, should she not just stay silent and accept the gifts he had given her? She had decided not to pry at the mysterious way of Neuro getting to have such things in such a short period of time; then again, from time to time, she would prod at him to tell her, and the only way to get her to be quiet was to spank her for a full four hours.

Good thing she's not a weakling, Neuro mused.

"I'm not mad," she muttered, her face still hidden in her palms as she shook her head.

"Well then, good," and he nuzzled her chin with all of the affection he could publicly muster, his lips curled in a small and contented smile as he did so. And as he expected, Yako's demeanor softened and she acquiesced, wrapping her arms around him loosely.

"Ah-ah, you two are at it again," Kanae teased as she sat down on her seat, eyeing them with concealed amusement and idle envy for the treatment Neuro was giving her. _Yuki is not like that... yet._

Yako laughed, embarrassed for letting her friend see such a sight, and she ruffled Neuro's hair, and in return, he nipped on her forehead with an audible chomp.

Mutsuki giggled from where she sat, and she stealthily snapped a picture of them from her phone, saving it under her picture files in her folder entitled _'Nee and Nii's love-love'_. Yako failed to notice it, but Neuro didn't. The green-eyed male let her be—he knew that Mutsuki knew that he was watching her, yet he showed no sign of disapproval about having stolen shots of him and Yako, on the contrary, he was quite amused on what the impish Mutsuki was doing.

He put her down the moment he heard talking outside the room, and as if cued, the students filed inside, chattering about their greetings and their day's worth of woe and happiness.

Ishigaki Jun entered the classroom with a whoop of a greeting, his voice sounding as lively as day as he stepped on the small platform in the middle of the room. The students hushed as they sat, taking their attendance with a joyful cheer, and his behavior was contagious.

He had taken over Jody Tubulik, as was scheduled by Hayasaka Hisanori, and since then Yako had been attentive in class—because he had been her favorite teacher in her elementary days.

Neuro had often been the victim of Jun's daily bouts of recitation, and he returned the favor by reciting everything in detail, along with additional trivia for the whole class. In other times, the students themselves declared to their teacher that they were learning more from Neuro than the teachers themselves—and Jun was proud of that. Rather than feeling his ego being bruised as a teacher, he took great pride in knowing that a student as young as Neuro already had the intellectual level to that of a genius.

As their classes wore on, ideas and lectures were exchanged, and their minds wandered about as lunch break came, with no word about the incidents from the previous year. It seemed that the students and the faculty have moved on, often staying quiet about such matters whenever the principal was around.

Neuro, after reading yet another five-hundred-page novel, was taking a nap on the school roof with his face covered by the hardbound book, waiting for Yako to finish her business with her ruined vest―as Neuro deliberately poured tea on her just to see her flushed face―when a group of male students, two small and lanky ones and one square-jawed and burly, entered through the steel door on the roof.

"Gyahaha! And then ya should see the look on his face when I kicked him―"

"Little dipshit cried for his mama! Ahaha! ...hey."

"What?"

"Look at that. That guy sleeping over there."

"Hah! Another priss to kick, eh?"

The small group of three males approached Neuro, who was lying over a large sheet spread out by Yako earlier―as to not make their clothes dirty―and, laughing to themselves as they looked at the covered face of the green-eyed man, one of the males not-so-lightly kicked Neuro's foot.

"Hey, get up."

"Yeah, get up, stupid."

Neuro merely groaned and turned over, his back now facing them, even so, his face remained covered by the book.

"Blond? Hah! A wannabe delinquent!" the guy who kicked Neuro's foot haughtily declared, and he kicked him again, this time, on the back of his knees. And they laughed.

One of the three males, upon further observation on the sleeping man's rather strange hair, gulped as he suddenly stopped laughing as his eyes widened and he took a step back, nervously tapping his friend's elbow as he shakily pointed a finger at Neuro's sleeping form.

"Uh, I don't think you should do that..."

The man kept on kicking Neuro at the back of his knees, though. "And why not? He's in my way! I'm claimin' this spot as mine!"

The other male noted his classmate's sudden change of attitude, and he stared at the sleeping man, and he also recognized the familiar locks of blond and black, and he stood frozen behind them. "Y-yeah. I don't think we should―l-look, I don't really think we should do that to him, he's―"

All of a sudden, the door to the roof slammed open, and in came Yako, panting for breath, her vest damp with water as she stomped her bitty feet. "Seriously, Neuro! You didn't have to do tha―eh?" and she saw the three males, one of them kicking Neuro on the back, the other two frozen and standing far from the other.

"Hey, what are you doing to him!" she gritted her teeth and ran over to Neuro's side in an instant, shielding him from further kicks to his person; and in the process, she had received a blow to her left arm.

And the two men who were standing and statuesque like mules immediately recognized her face; and they quickly fell to their knees, prostrating themselves and performing the kowtow to her.

"Forgive us, Yako-_sama_!" they cried, and their faces became pale, too pale, and their brows were suddenly damp with cold sweat, their jaws too clenched as they continued to cry for Yako's forgiveness. Their voices squeaked and overlapped with each trembling squawk.

"He didn't know what he's doing―"

"―e just transferred here―"

"―a family of yakuzas―"

"―didn't know who you are―!"

"―don't eat us―!"

The last part made Yako's eye twitch. _Am I supposed to be a monster here?_

The man who had kicked Neuro and Yako, who had been silent until now, raised an eyebrow at his classmates, "Geh? Yer all scared of this puny little thing? Yer not men at all! Get outta my way, missy."

Yako's eyes hardened with determination as she glared at this burly male, and with a stern "no" from her glossed lips, she didn't move an inch from where she was crouching.

The male laughed as he pointed a finger at her face, "Hah! D'ya know who I am, missy? I am the son of the first―"

His words were cut off as a hardbound book came flying to his face, its spine hitting him square in the nose.

It was then when Neuro turned over and opened his dark green eyes, "I was trying to sleep…"

And the two men who had prostrated themselves to Yako immediately cried for forgiveness and performed the kowtow to Neuro, not caring for the blood that slowly stained their foreheads―their lives were more important―and now that Neuro had awoken, they were sure their lives would be cut by half (if they were lucky).

Neuro looked at the men who had invaded his private moment of sleep, then at his now sullied uniform. "I just had this cleaned from Zera..."

Yako was about to dust away his uniform out of impulse when she was offhandedly lifted away from Neuro.

"Yer in my way, missy," the man breathed to Yako's face, but she merely glared at him. And from a short distance, she heard pitiful wails of unmanly cries. She was about to retort when she was cut off by the overly-cheerful voice of Neuro from behind her.

"Ah... I wouldn't do that to her if I were you!" he cooed, his voice lilted in a sing-song tune, and he slowly stood up to his full height.

The two men who were a mere two feet away from Neuro had looked at him―and when Neuro glanced at them, a cold shiver ran down their spines as they pissed in their pants.

The man who was holding Yako by her collar suddenly became pale as he stared at Neuro and his gigantic height. He jumped back and yelped when luminescent green and black eyes bore into him, Neuro's teeth glinting at the sun as he spoke.

"You _will _let go of my property, yes?" he asked, his voice two octaves lower than before.

Yako was quickly released. The two men who were bowing and hitting their foreheads on the ground begged for their lives as Neuro grabbed the nameless man's head and effortlessly dangled him over the metal rails with a blank face.

An evil gleam shone in Neuro's eyes as he muttered a soft-spoken "beg", his blank smile perfectly in place as the man squirmed.

"You're a freshman, eh? I see..." and Neuro smiled as he shook the squirming form just the slightest―and a quite unmanly squeal echoed in the air.

From below the school roof, the people who were just outside, on the school grounds, were in shock of what they have seen. Some seniors merely shook their heads―as though they were used of seeing such a thing every day―muttering words of pity for the poor person who was being dangled over the edge. Nougami has done it again, they muttered.

A rain of golden liquid was sprinkled over the rails and into the school grounds. And a piercing cry was heard throughout the whole school.

It was on that day that a wildfire fact spread throughout all of the freshmen in the school, that Nougami Neuro was someone not to be crossed with, especially if it involved his "favorite little pet".

The male freshmen kept their distance from Yako since then, opting to speak to her within a three-meter radius whenever Neuro was around, and a four-meter radius whenever Neuro was _not _around―which was a rare time, seeing as he was always with her throughout the day, even going as far as to stand in front of the door to the ladies' room like a soldier if Yako was in one of the cubicles―a habit Neuro has yet to get over since he was seven years old.

The students who would observe the two from afar would could only conclude that Neuro had himself completely wrapped around Yako's finger―whereas if they had only known them personally, they would know that it was completely the other way around.

* * *

><p>"And so they're now our bodyguards."<p>

"Eh? That's it? I thought Nougami-_san_ would do something much worse than that. I mean, that stupid student did kick Nougami-_san _and you―and we all know how much of a scary person he could be if you were in harm's way."

Yako laughed, "Well, I think that was more than enough. I mean, he _did _piss himself. So did the other two, but at least they didn't piss all over the school rails and onto the grounds. Did you see the look on the people's faces?"

Kanae merely shook her head as she smiled, "I think his sadism is rubbing on you. And yes, I saw those people. One teacher got unlucky and he had urine drops on his hair."

Yako winced and her eye twitched, "Well, it could have been worse. Good thing it was not human droppings. Besides, one of them did kick me, and you know how Neuro is when it comes to that."

Kanae sighed, and opted not to say anything about Yako's last comment, "Nougami-_san_'s presence is really something to be feared at, then. Apparently, these guys learned it the hard way."

Yako smiled, "That they did."

Mutsuki piped up, a cheerful, "Is your arm better now?" and Yako replied with an affirmative, showing her arm that was now bruise-free. It was a good thing that she wasn't kicked too hard. Mutsuki smiled after that, and took a quick cold glance over her shoulder, towards the three men following them, and the men gulped beneath her stare.

And they were silent as they passed by a computer shop, noting from the glass windows that they passed by that the three males were following them like a pack of dogs submissive to their master. It was an order from Mutsuki, after all.

Kanae felt uneasy―then again, Yukinori could also be considered an imposing man, but he was another story―Yako and Mutsuki merely hummed. They were already used to being around such omnipresent beings.

Entering a fancy-looking cake shop in Shibuya, Yako immediately skipped over to the table that Shinobu and Neuro occupied, squealing away her greetings as she sat beside Neuro. Mutsuki followed suit, greeting Shinobu with a chirpy morning's greetings to her _"Gocchan"_. Kanae sat over near Yako feeling a bit of relief upon seeing the two males she was quite familiar with.

The three men acting as bodyguards, dressed in impeccable black suits and dark shades―as ordered by Mutsuki the moment she had found out that her _nee-chan _had been kicked on the arm―stood stiffly behind Yako and Neuro. And Kanae felt that all eyes from the shop were staring at them. Yako merely laughed nervously.

"So, what're we havin'?" Shinobu asked, irritated for being dragged over to such a place on an early Saturday morning just to be Neuro's errand boy.

Yako hummed and called over a waitress, and with a mere glance at the menu in front of them, she ordered everything in the menu in a heartbeat, shocking the waitress. "What do you guys like?" she asked gleefully after ordering, and Neuro smiled as he ordered just the same as she did, and the waitress's eyes went wide as she jotted down their orders. Kanae ordered a chocolate mousse with mint tea while Mutsuki ordered two slices of blueberry cheesecake with chamomile tea. Shinobu ordered three slices of black forest with black coffee, and all the while, their three statuesque bodyguards tried not to gape their mouths at Neuro and Yako's long list of orders.

"So," Kanae started, clasping her hands as she looked at her friends expectantly, "why are we here again?"

"It's for _nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_'s first anniversary, of course!" Mutsuki cheered, her eyes wide as she bounced on her seat.

It was then that Yako's eyes snapped over to the smiling sixteen-year old, her lips ready to form a protest―to bemoan that there was no such thing as an anniversary that would occur between her and Neuro (at least, not until they were married)―when Neuro suddenly interrupted her with his over-the-top optimistic-sounding voice.

"Why, how nice of you, Miyasako-_san_! Such a generous person!" and he was stretching Yako's cheeks as he spoke, and Mutsuki beamed as her hands clasped, saying things that she would like to meet someone as "kind and as romantic as Neuro-_nii _someday!"―and the three bodyguards, along with Kanae, Yako and Shinobu merely held their tongues from her words.

Better not ruin her hopes, they thought in unison.

They talked about anything that they could think of as they waited for their orders. Yako, feeling pity for their so-called bodyguards at one point, tried to offer them a table for them to sit at, but Neuro was adamant that they should stand still like posts. She said nothing about that matter since then.

Once they received their hefty dose of sweets and beverages, Neuro took a glance at one of the males hovering behind them, and noted with curiosity that the man's head was slightly inclined towards Yako's direction. Neuro couldn't tell if the suit-clad man was looking at Yako's food or on her modestly-covered chest, so he cleared his throat.

"Something the matter, Pissy?" he asked wryly, his eyebrow arched as he took a sip of his steaming cup of long black, eyeing them with morbid amusement as he watched the man square his shoulders―probably in fear of being caught staring at Yako. The nickname Neuro had given the man obviously irked him, but Neuro continued to call him as such, simply for his sadistic nature of joyfully abusing his "slaves" verbally.

"Nothing, sir," he mumbled. And he had swallowed his pride since the day he had literally―and shamefully―urinated himself all over the school. He had become a slave for Neuro's whims, and even moreso since he had learned that Neuro was well-acquainted with the Hayasaka brothers and Miyasako Mutsuki, three of the well-known names in the underground dealings that involved firearms and deadly narcotics. Mutsuki's family name was in a different league altogether, though.

Neuro then huffed as he looked away with a passive face, taking a quick bite out of his devil's food cake. He took a quick glance at Yako, and he hummed. _No wonder. _

"Piggy, stop eating for a moment, will you?"

At this, Yako blinked, her fork filled with angel's cake poised at her open mouth as Neuro dropped his food and twirled her around, facing him completely.

Glaring straight at the statuesque men, he then cheeped a joyful, "Turn around, vermin!"

And they quickly did as they were told.

"Neuro, what're you―"

"Your sorry excuse for a thin apparel surprises me at times, little sow," and with that, he reached out to her and to her button-down little white blouse―its button was coming loose out of its confines, and it was giving the people around her a glimpse of what she was hiding beneath.

Neuro's fingers deftly buttoned her blouse, his face passive as he did so, and when Yako blinked and muttered a quiet thanks, he rearranged her (overly expensive) choker—a collar, as Yako once described—and he smiled, not before stealing a quick kiss to her cake-crumbled lips.

"Remember who you belong to, kitten," he whispered to her mouth, and Yako, quite stunned at his sudden (and uncharacteristic) act of affection, could only dumbly nod and gulp as she looked at those deep emerald-onyx eyes.

Kanae and Shinobu, on the other hand, could only stare mutely at the two, their food splattering on their plates and their forks tinkling on the saucers, while Mutsuki merely muffled an excited squeal and hurriedly took a picture of them with her phone.

Happy with her reaction, he smiled as he straightened her blouse, tapped the top of her bosom twice to flatten the barely noticeable ruffles, and sat up straight, exclaiming a curt, "Face in front, scumbags" as he returned eating. Their bodyguards quickly turned around, their faces void of emotion, as helped by their shades.

The flow of conversation returned awkwardly until then, Shinobu trying to grasp the situation while Kanae felt kind of envious for Yako. It wasn't until Yako excused herself to the ladies' room after finishing her first half of her meal—Neuro gave her two minutes to finish—that Shinobu mustered the courage to ask a question he had been dying to be answered.

"'ey, Monster. How d'ya got her to be engaged with ya?"

Kanae gasped and stared at him. _That's too straight to the point, Godai-san!_

Mutsuki, too, thought it was too blunt for him to ask such a thing, but secretly, she wanted to hear the answer, too.

"Engaged? Is that what they call it?" Neuro asked, blinking and wide-eyed as he took a sip of his long black. Truly, he didn't know anything about the verbal terms of relationships and such. The only thing he knew was that he needed physical evidence to mark Yako as his, so as to warn the other men that she was taken and off-limits.

"Geh? Monster, where 'ave ya been? Of course that's what ya call it! Don't tell me ya didn't kno—oh right, you didn't, if ya did, ya wouldn' ask..." and he clamped his mouth shut as soon as he received a blank smile from Neuro.

Kanae giggled, it was an amusing sight to see. Godai Shinobu, the brawny and foul-mouthed man, would be reduced to a cowardly and submissive dog because of one facial expression from Neuro.

"So, Nougami-_san_, tell us about it then," she started coyly, her elbows propped on the white, intricately-designed, round table and hands tucked beneath her chin as her eyebrows arched and her eyes twinkled. She had always been intrigued by the presence of this handsome and intelligent young man, this man who had single-handedly won over the heart of Katsuragi Yako for more than ten years—and counting. "How did you propose to Yako?" she smoothly asked, and all eyes at the table, including the stoic bodyguards standing a few inches away from Neuro, then looked at the blond's now calmly-smiling façade.

"Simple," he said, and his eyes hid behind thick eyelashes as he spoke on, "I had her the moment I saved her life."

"So you're her savior?" Shinobu inquired. He had known from Mutsuki that Kanae had once told her that Yako was kidnapped as a child, and that incident had led a well-contained fear inside Neuro's heart since then on. In a way, Shinobu could understand what Neuro went through; having to see such an incident at a tender young age was something that could be considered traumatizing for some, but even so, Neuro remained strong—or maybe, Neuro had cultivated the will to grow strong—all for Yako.

_Without noticing it, he had slowly become a fortress for the little missy. This guy's still kinda blind in some aspects in a relationship, though. __  
><em>  
>Neuro hummed and inclined his head to one side, his eyes looking at a distance, past the white walls that lined the shoppe's interiors, recalling a long-forgotten memory, "I think. But we haven't really talked about it—what I am to her, that is. Isn't where we are now the thing that's more important, though? I mean, she had always been with me and all. Declarations of love and emotion could come later. I want to show everyone who she belongs to, and that's that."<p>

Kanae and Shinobu's eyes widened. Mutsuki stifled a wide grin.

It was then that Yako returned at the table with a small smile of her own. "Did I miss anything?" she piped cheerfully as she sat down, and Neuro shook his head softly, his deep green eyes casted behind hooded eyelids, and beneath the table, he silently held her left hand, clasping it loosely to his own, and the act made Yako smile bashfully. It was rare for him to be a romantic, after all.

"Hm. And with twelve seconds to spare," Neuro commented with a grin that showed his two fanged teeth. Yako giggled.

"You told me to make it back in two minutes, so I tried to make it in time."

"And you're improving on that, Piglet. I should think of more traps to set you in."

And Yako laughed, "Give it your best shot, Puppy."

In response, Neuro bit her ear, just enough to make her squirm and gasp.

And all the while, the people around them wondered—how Neuro and Yako kept their seemingly more-than-friends relationship going strong.

The young man who had kicked Neuro a week ago tried to control the rush of blood going to his face. _So this guy has a soft side, eh._

The three former thugs stood still behind Neuro and Yako, and in a short period of time, they have seen Nougami Neuro's strength and weakness, and it was in a form of a wide-eyed, honey-locked, gluttonous, constantly-hungry and impossibly-petite-for-her-appetite girl.

They wondered how the two of them had gotten along throughout the years—he's always hurting her in some way or another, they mused, but even so—

—a thought then crept to their wayward minds—

—and it dawned on the three bodyguards.

_Maybe they're in a sadomasochistic relationship!_

It was on that day that they have seen Katsuragi Yako and Nougami Neuro in a new light—a secretly soft-hearted dominant and an overly loyal submissive.

Strange and unmentionable images formed in their minds—chains, ropes and whips and gags—

—and blood spurted from their noses.

Kanae screamed in comical horror.

* * *

><p>"Kinbaku" literally means "bondage". :D And for some reason, I felt that the ending was rushed on this chapter. -_-;;<p> 


	16. Interulus

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: Interulus <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Reviews. I need them too. D:

* * *

><p>Monday mornings have always been a life's bane for students—waking up early in the morning (five o'clock for some) and struggling to get out of their possessive beds, things like that have always made people groan.<p>

In Yako's case, Monday mornings always made her bones crack.

It was either waking up to Neuro's long limbs crushing her ribs and legs or being hugged and cuddled to death.

Even so, she never once complained. It was better than having to wake up alone.

"You crushed my pelvis with your legs today—"

"Oh, hush. It could've been your throat."

"That's not what I meant, dummy!"

And the sound of laughter echoed in the air.

The status of Neuro and Yako's relationship had been circulating around the school lately. Ever since the students have seen the fine and intricate-looking ring that the two of them wore, rumors were buzzing about—whines of disappointment from the females and groans of loss from the males. The females have always vied for Neuro's attention, and some of the males have vied for Yako's affection; they have seen how much of a delight she would be should she become someone's girlfriend—her loyalty, honesty and kindness have always won their hearts.

Yako sat on her well-polished seat in class—apparently, her classmates have yet to grow out of treating her (and Neuro) like a deity. Neuro sat behind her, his seat as equally polished as Yako's, and while waiting for the school bell to ring, he leaned over to Yako's seat and rested his chin upon her shoulder.

"I'm tired," he groaned, his voice low and gruff, and Yako, feeling a bit of pity for him, raised her hand to his hair and smoothed out his ebony-and-lemon locks, humming as she did so.

"I should be saying that, you know, you didn't let me sleep until two," she complained half-heartedly, and even so, she nuzzled her cheek to his brow. In response, he chuckled, and that little sound sent delicious shivers down her spine.

"If I recall correctly, _you _were the one telling me not to stop. You were all, 'N-Neuro, m-more—ohpleasedon'tstoprubbingme!' Am I correct? I even told you to stay quiet so your parents won't notice us, but you remained screaming out my name—not that I minded it at all. Good thing I soundproofed your room before we did it, eh? And they were watching a movie while we were at it, so it was an added bonus."

Yako groaned and lightly tugged on his hair, and Neuro won the banter. She had no arguments in that. "My voice wasn't that squeaky, you know, and I didn't beg! ...much," she pouted, and Neuro merely laughed.

Their little conversation was interrupted by one of their classmates tentatively approaching them.

"Neuro-_sama_? Yako-_sama_? C-can I ask you a question?" the shy one was a girl, one with pigtails donned on each side of her petite face and a demure air seemed to surround her. Neuro merely raised an eyebrow at her, not speaking, while Yako beamed and nodded quite excitedly. Upon receiving an affirmative response, the girl gulped and played with the ends of her braided hair.

"Um," her voice came out in an embarrassing squeak, and she gulped again; being stared at by the most popular guy in school and his equally popular girlfriend—_fiancée_—seemed to make her go mute. "Could you um—do you have some time after school? If I may ask?"

"What for?" It was Neuro who spoke, his voice void of his faux cheer for anyone who was not Yako, and judging from the timbre of his voice, he was irritated for being interrupted.

"Um," there it was again, that awful word and that annoying voice, and Neuro almost snapped if it weren't for Yako patting his head and whispering something to him—probably something to calm him down.

Yako apologized to the bashful girl, "He just woke up feeling grumpy, that's all." And the girl nodded in understanding and looked away, blushing and biting her lip as she asked her next question.

"So, it's really true that Neuro-_sama_ and Yako-_sama _are living together?"

Yako, surprised by the sudden question, supplied with a quick shake of her head and with flailing arms, "No, it's not like that at all!" And she snapped her head to Neuro with a whine, "Help me here!"

Neuro smiled and cooed a baritone, "We are engaged, not living together... yet."

And the pigtailed girl squealed as she pulled out a notepad from her skirt pocket, "So! Please tell me the details!"

Neuro's brows rose and Yako's eyes widened. _That's a complete one-eighty personality flip right there!_

Yako, suddenly unsure of how to respond to the sudden change of atmosphere, tried to control her twitching eye, "What's it for, may I ask?"

Almost bouncing off the balls of her feet, the girl suddenly zoomed in on Yako's face, "It's for the school paper's entertainment section! This month, we're doing a special segment for randomly selected students chosen by the newspaper club—and we all voted for you two!"

"Eh? Why us!" was Yako's quick retort. There was no way she would do such a thing! A sudden invasion of privacy—!

"Neuro-_sama_ and Yako-_sama _are the most popular students in school!" and by this moment, the girl was all fired up. With her fist clenched in the air, she proudly exclaimed, "Rising to the top of the school's popularity poll within a month of your freshman year, you two took the student body's Heart by storm! And have continued to do so until now! And then—out of the blue—"

She slowly waved her right hand across the air, her eyes far-off in the distance, and she continued her tirade, "—these two young student favorites have suddenly declared to the world—a ring—!"

Yako tried to cut her off with an offhanded, "but we really didn't declare anything—" but she wasn't heard. Neuro chuckled as the girl—_who is this again?_—went off in her outlandish words.

"—a very exquisite ring that symbolized their undying, crystallized love! Walking towards anywhere hand in hand, we, the student body, can only take _so _much—!"

By this time, Shinobu, who had just entered the classroom, had already moved away from the strange girl, muttering something about nuisances.

* * *

><p>Yako immediately regretted her decision.<p>

Sitting on two foldable chairs, she and Neuro sat with their backs pressed firmly on said chairs, regarding the girl who had persuaded them to get a few questions out of them for the school paper.

Neuro was getting close to throwing a table to her face. Yako, for the meantime, showed apathy to the situation at hand.

The pigtailed girl had been enthusiastic since early morning, why Yako and Neuro had agreed, they themselves failed to know.

"—and then, Yako-_sama_, have you ever felt the need to get away from all of this?"

"All of what?"

The girl vaguely gestured to Neuro with a quick flick of her hand, simpering, "From Neuro-_sama_, I mean. Everyone knows you two stick together like super glue ever since you were kids and—the students would like to know," and she paused, rearranging her slightly crooked reading glasses from her bitty nose as she took out a memo pad from her skirt pocket, "—had there been a time when Yako-_sama_ and Neuro-_sama _have grown tired of each other's company?"

A quick and perfectly synched "no" was their unified answer.

And the girl squealed in her seat. Neuro cringed. Yako sighed.

"And they even answer exactly at the same time! Omigosh, the students will _love _this!" and she scribbled down on her memo pad.

"This interview is recorded, right?" interrupted Yako with a slightly raised finger to the small cassette sitting on the cold and metallic desk, and when she saw the girl nodding hastily, Yako glanced at Neuro, and when he returned her inquisitive look with a small shrug, she asked a quick, "you won't really write down everything that we have said, right? I mean, Neuro is sensitive about our private matters and all—"

"Oh, don't worry, Yako-_sama_! Your secrets are in perfectly good hands—!"

Neuro chuckled and he regarded the girl with a slow smile creeping to his face, "They better be in good hands, we wouldn't want any unnecessary problems in this school, would we? If would be a sad thing if certain things in this interview would leak—say, for example, the one with me and Yako staying over at each other's houses?"

"Eh? But Neuro-_sama_, it's a well-known fact that you two are staying over at each other's houses—"

"—and how do you suppose they know _that_?"

"Neuro, don't scare her—!"

At this, the girl at the other end of the roundtable inched away—those two fanged teeth and those swirling black-green eyes were almost smiling evilly at her.

* * *

><p>Students buzzed on about, muffling their squealing and giggling as Yako and Neuro entered their homeroom.<p>

"...I'm guessing this month's school paper is out?" Yako mumbled to a sighing Neuro as they sat. Students around them peered at the doorways—some were bowing and blushing at them, and the rumors were flowing in-between them with much renewed fervor.

_"So they're really engaged?"_

_"I guess they are. I mean, they have those ornate rings on their fingers and—"_

_"—they're wearing them on their ring fingers—!"_

Neuro sighed, blocking out all of the squealing noise blaring on his poor ears. Trying to distract himself, he propped his socked feet on Yako's shoulders, ignoring her grumbles of complaint.

Their Wednesday morning started out like that, and Yako, as much as she wanted to learn from her teachers, couldn't wait for school to be over.

* * *

><p>Yako and Neuro returned home with frowns marring their weary faces. Haruka and Seiichi noticed it, and tried to pry once, but with a simple explanation from Neuro—<em>our days as juniors are about to end and our teachers are being strict on our academics!<em>—they were put at ease.

Yako was in the middle of changing into her nightclothes when a sharp knock was heard from her bedroom door.

Hollering a quick "Just a minute!" she hurriedly slid on her bra and—

"Yako, I'm sorry for barging in at this time of the night! You weren't picking up your phone and Haruka-_san _let me in and—"

Upon hearing the familiar voice of her best friend, Yako sharply turned around, as she was facing the doorway when the door opened, "Kanae-_chan_! I'm almost done—wai—"

The loud creak of the door was heard.

"Ohmigosh—I'm so sorry!" and Kanae quickly slammed the door and turned away—

—and her face met Neuro's chest.

"Oh. Hello, Yako's friend," he greeted, the slight surprise evident in his voice as he neared the door and reached for the doorknob, "why are you here?" His usual tight-lipped smile faltered just the slightest, for he noticed the blush that stained Kanae's cheeks.

_Like hell I'll pay attention to that._

Kanae, in turn, flailed her arms madly in front of her face, stuttering, "Nougami-_san_, not now! Don't open the door! Yako is—"

Neuro's brow raised, and his frown deepened even more, "Yako's what?" And he opened the door nonchalantly, humming as he laid his eyes upon an underwear-clad Yako, her buttocks raised in the air as she picked up her school uniform from the floor.

Kanae panicked and braced herself for the yells and outbursts that she expected from Yako—though she never expected a blunt "oh Neuro, you're back" from a girl who had just been seen in her undies by a—_delectable, Adonis-like, utterly sexy and downright drool-worthy_—man.

Kanae gaped and stood still by the doorway as Neuro calmly entered Yako's room as though he owned the place, taking no surprise by the honey-locked girl's state of almost-nakedness.

"Y-Yako," Kanae started, trying to supply her brain with the proper words to say to this unexplainable situation. Shouldn't this be the part where the girl would throw literally every thing she had in her hand just to keep a man from seeing her bare state?

Yako, as though answering Kanae's unformed question, merely stood up straight, her back facing an unfazed Neuro, and she calmly spoke, "Unclasp this, please."

Kanae gasped as her brown eyes widened.

Nougami Neuro, Yako's torturer slash boyfriend, was unclasping her brassiere.

Kanae's mind suddenly went blank―

―all the while, Neuro basked in the complete euphoria of having to undress Yako in front of her friend.

"Neuro, I can sense you smiling," Yako muttered through grinning lips as she let him unclasp the hook. She didn't know what exactly she was thinking of, but she had an inkling as to what was it that had gotten him smiling like a lunatic.

"Oh? You can tell?"

"By your voice, yes. Oh, Kanae-_chan_? Exactly why are you here?" Yako asked as she craned her head to see a glimpse of Kanae's appalled visage. Yako's hidden impish nature had been trying to crawl out of her recently, and Kanae would be the first one—aside from Neuro—to see such a thing. She didn't wait for her friend's response, as Neuro was now blocking her line of sight, donning her favored sleepwear with much ease.

It appeared that Neuro had the same line of thought with Yako as well.

That secretive and kittenish upward tug of their lips that they shared silently told Kanae that she was, unfortunately, not welcome for the night.

Not that they would actually say it to her face. Yako wouldn't do it―and Neuro was sure that she wouldn't let him do it.

Kanae was, by all means, embarrassed about having to see such a thing. Even so, she swallowed her unspoken embarrassment and turned a blind eye to her best friend's fiancé silently waving his possessiveness onto Yako.

With a hand poised coolly upon her hip, she raised her chin, "Yuki and I had a fight." And Kanae mentally slapped herself. _I shouldn't be proud of that!_

"Eh? Again? What's it about this time?" Yako asked, fully facing her with her Victorian shirt still unbuttoned. She ignored Kanae gaping at her.

"Yako! Cover up first!"

"But we're both girls and―"

"And besides, I've already seen all of her."

"Ugh. Neuro, you don't have to phrase it that way―ah!" and Yako was heaved over Neuro's shoulder, laughing as he ignored Yako's surprised cry. Kanae, on the other hand, simply shook her head. She could never really comprehend what goes on between those two and―

_―wait._

Kanae gasped, and her eyes widened as she looked at Neuro's all-too-happy face―lightly patting Yako's thinly-clad bottom with a barely hidden smirk.

"How far have you two gotten, exactly?"

Neuro hummed at the brown-haired girl, a lone eyebrow quirked at the puzzled Kanae, and, patting Yako's fleshy thigh, he tilted his head and smiled, his teeth showing as he spoke, "Not far, I think. Though I can confidently say that we're getting close," and he pecked Yako's thigh―happily turning a deaf ear to her whines of protest, "right, Little Louse?"

"No we're not―"

"Oh, pish posh. We even took a bath together, remember. Two times, t―"

"Don't blurt it out, dummy!"

"Getting shy, are we?"

"Kanae-_chan_, don't listen to him, he's―"

"I even tied her to her bed for several times. I'd say she likes it the most when I spa―"

"Neuro!"

"What? I'm telling the truth here."

"Don't spout things!"

"Are you raising your voice at me, kitten?"

And they bickered in front of a red-faced and appalled Kanae, trying hard to ignore the sounds of seemingly harsh slaps and lewd-sounding kisses delivered onto her friend's (oh-so-lucky) bum.

_I feel like I'm intruding on something quite intimate...!_

Kanae, after discovering the rather lascivious sight of Neuro and Yako (almost) shamelessly making out in front of her, ended up having to stay over at the Katsuragi abode, sleeping in the vacant guest room that had never once been occupied―as Neuro had always stayed in Yako's room whenever he dropped by―and throughout the night, she had been thinking how much of a fortunate person Yako had been for meeting Neuro.

_...wait. Didn't he say earlier that they took a bath together? Twice!_

Kanae groaned and tossed and turned in her cold bed.

_Damn. That lucky girl._

* * *

><p>It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and Yako had been busy trying to catch up with her friend's dilemma. Apparently, Kanae ended up staying over for the weekend, and Yako's parents had no qualms with that.<p>

They were seated in the living room―Neuro sat like a king on the couch, with the exception of Yako being cooped up in between his long, lean arms and legs, like a life-sized stuffed toy. Kanae sat opposite of them, trying hard to turn a blind eye at Neuro's more-than-obvious affection being showered upon her best friend.

_He's cuddling her like there's no tomorrow._

"...so Kanae-_chan_ wanted Yukinori-_san _to remain chaste?" Yako interjected, hoping in vain for her possessive captor to loosen his hold on her for a bit. She heaved for precious air the moment his arms loosened around her form.

"Uh huh. But Yuki wanted me to take things further, and that's when our fight began."

"How further are we talking about here?"

"...down to the unmentionable stuff..." and Kanae looked away, a dart of pink tinting her cheeks as she bit her lip. Going to Yako and Neuro for advice initially made Kanae thought that things would turn out nice between her and Yukinori, but the more that she observed them, the more absurd her initial thought was―

"―Kanae-_chan _said no, is that it?" and Yako saw her nod. "Well then, how about trying to talk things over? Like, what are your limitations to this sort of thing? The things you can and cannot do for him at this moment," Yako said, and she felt her lungs being squished―Neuro was hugging her to death again.

He was silent the whole time, opting to let Yako do all the talking. He was rather content to just simply bask in her warmth, it was enough, he thought. _At least it wasn't cold._

Neuro barely heard Yako drone on about love advice and such things, and he yawned as he nuzzled his chin to her shoulder―a soothing white noise, he mused.

The girls' conversation dragged on, and Neuro remained silent still, letting Yako talk on; the vibrations her body was creating from talking were tickling his cheek, and a small smile graced his lips as he sighed.

It occurred to Yako that a few minutes later, she noticed a huff of breath tickling her right ear.

"Ah, he fell asleep," she mumbled, and Yako patted his hair, smiling fondly at the slumbering man.

"He's really attached to you huh," Kanae observed, smiling at the sight of Neuro's sleeping face. It was the third time she had seen him like this, and she thought it was adorable seeing the impenetrable man looking as defenseless as a child when he would sleep―

"Is he always like that?" Kanae asked, blinking, and Yako responded with a slight nod as she spoke, her hands stroking his hair affectionately as she gazed upon him.

"He's always smiling when he sleeps, it seems. Sometimes, I wonder if it's also the same if he's sleeping back at his home."

"Oh? So he _does _return to his house?"

"During certain times," she mumbled, and Yako's smile faltered just the slightest―it was turning to something that was akin to a stifled grin, and Kanae's eyebrows rose.

"Certain times... when?"

"Certain... times..." and Yako almost squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable in the sudden turn of the conversation. Kanae had a hint, and she left it at that―

―or so Yako thought.

"Eeh―" Kanae grinned, her lips covered by her perfectly-manicured hand as she eyed her best friend with mischief, "I'm guessing it involves something not meant to be said out loud?" Her voice dripped with playfulness, and Yako's reaction to the whole thing made her bolder.

Neuro turned his back on Kanae, groaning. It didn't help him much that his feet were dangling in a very awkward way over the armrest somehow emphasizing his long legs. Yako played with the ends of his hair, curling the tips of her fingers on the blond-and-black locks. Kanae noted with fascination that his smile remained while sleeping―_is he really asleep, though?_She blamed Yako's hand that was lightly kissing his cheek―even as she blushed furiously.

Yako was about to redeem herself when the phone rang from the hallway. "I'll get that," and Yako gently pried Neuro's head away from her lap, excusing herself as she left.

Kanae was left alone with a sleeping Neuro, or so she thought.

He turned over again, this time facing her, and the drone of Yako's voice buzzed from the halls. Kanae immediately sat up straight―even though his eyes were closed, she felt as though she was being stared at.

She blamed his eyes.

"It was Aomi-_san_," Yako piped as she appeared on the doorway and padded over to the couch, "Neuro, Aomi-_san _said that your delivery had arrived. What delivery was it?"

Kanae, appearing puzzled, tilted her head as she pointed a finger at the blond, "But I thought he's―"

"They're books," Neuro suddenly chimed in, his eyes still closed as he flexed his right arm and curled his leg, "they were from the homeland."

Yako's brows rose, "Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes."

"And why are you awake? I was fairly sure that you were asleep a few minutes ago," and Yako sat on the other end of the armrest, for he was occupying all of the space in the couch.

"My pillow ran away," was what he replied.

Yako merely harrumphed and pouted as she faced Kanae, ignoring the playful smirk that tugged on his lips. "Kanae-_chan_, what do you like to eat?"

"But we just ate a few minutes ago and―"

"I want that mashed potato with Caesar salad that you made the other day," Neuro interjected, not bothering to move or open his eyes even as Yako suddenly sat on his ribs.

She looked at Neuro and beamed, "Okay, then. Seven servings of mashed potato and Caesar salad it is! Kanae-_chan_, how about you?"

"Eh? Why seven?"

"He usually eats seven servings of everything. I eat triple than that."

Kanae's eye twitched.

_I'm surrounded by infinite gluttons!_

* * *

><p>"―and then I got this nice cream blush from the newly-open boutique by the ramen house! It's so cute and―"<p>

"Yako. Stop your useless yapping and just buy whatever it is that you want to buy―"

"But I need new undies. You ripped mine a week ago when you were―"

A gasp, "Nougami-_san_! Is that _true_?"

Yako nodded for Neuro, for he merely smiled blankly at Kanae.

"That he did! He told me that I," and she cleared her throat as she tried to imitate Neuro's voice as much as she could while they walked to the lingerie department, "'needed to be punished because of what you did to my book', is what he said! I already told him I was sorry!"

Several of the people around them looked at the direction of the red-faced girl clinging onto the tall blond's arm, and she puffed her cheeks, ignoring the stares she received. She was used to it, anyway.

Little did they know that those stares came mostly from the females―hungry eyes devouring Neuro's form as he, Yako and Kanae scanned the aisles upon aisles of intimate apparel for ladies. It was a rare chance that a male would drop by in such a shop, and seeing one―_a foreign-looking, sexy and scrumptious excuse for a man_―right now was like dangling the sweetest and most forbidden fruit in front of the lust-laden Eve.

Kanae felt the stares on their backs as they walked. Apparently, she managed to snag another day hanging out with the odd couple―her and Yukinori had been exchanging small talk through their phones alone, never in person, as it could create unnecessary tension for them and it was the last thing that she wanted and―

"Neuro! How about this one?" Kanae heard Yako ask, and she hummed as she turned away her thoughts and looked at what Yako tried to show him.

She almost choked on her own spit as Yako held out in front of Neuro the underwear she wanted to try on.

An edible one.

A mint-flavored edible underwear.

A skimpy―_too thin_―mint-flavored and _edible _underwear.

Kanae saw Neuro's eyes brighten, not out of surprise, but out of utmost interest.

Those intense green and onyx eyes were eyeing Yako like a famished wolf.

"I'd rather prefer this one," he coolly replied instead, and with a wide smile―as though it was the most normal thing for him to do―he took a flimsy, gossamer piece of cloth behind Yako. It resembled the one that Neuro had ripped off from her some time ago (it was a skin-toned, silk lingerie set), "this is also a pair. Or maybe even this one?"

Yako hummed, smiling quietly still as she craned her neck and looked at the thin and smooth thing dangling from Neuro's spindly fingers, "Spandex? Oh, from _that _time...!"

"What time?" Kanae suddenly asked, hiding the blush that slowly bloomed on her cheeks. It was tasking enough to overhear their private conversation, but to openly see them talking freely about _underwear _of all things...!

"Oh, it's nothing," Yako chimed as her voice quaked a bit, waving her hand dismissively with a nervous laugh, "it's between Neuro and I. Ehe!" And she ignored Neuro who was blatantly smiling blankly at her―she knew what was coming―

―he flicked the panties and bra to her face, cackling madly all the while.

Yako, after a number of tortures from Neuro (he had been flinging all of the underwear that his hands had touched straight to her face), ended up buying the underwear that Neuro favored on her.

Neuro had been ecstatic about the whole edible underwear thing. As soon as Yako told him that she was fine with wearing such a risqué undergarment—_such a sucker for food, my little maggot!_—he quickly bought the edible mint-flavored top with much childish joy; the edible bottoms for Yako were, as of yet, a no-no for him. His excitement was too evident through his actions—he had literally dragged Yako by her collar as soon as they had made their purchase, leaving a shocked Kanae behind.

Kanae felt peeved somehow.

She tried to catch up to them—they were a good three feet away from her at least. Kanae ran after them, bumping several people in her wake. She caught up with them after a good five minutes.

"Nougami-_san_! Yako!" she wheezed, and her arm reached out for Yako's legs that were dangling from Neuro's shoulder and onto the expanse of his back. Poor Yako's face was bumping mercilessly to Neuro's chest as he ran.

"Oh, hello Yako's friend! Glad you can catch up!" Neuro happily quipped, stopping for a moment to wait for the lights on the pedestrian lane to turn green. His grin was too wide—too excited for something that Kanae couldn't quite tell. She gulped, and tried to peek at the quite dizzy Yako (she assumed), though she couldn't quite say if Yako was also smiling widely—

_—those two always have this sense of having a one-way type of thinking. Always finishing each other's thoughts...! ...And he still can't remember my name!_

"Yako—" Kanae began, but she was cut off as Neuro, again, ran as fast as he could—

—like a hungry predator seeking for a tasty prey—in his case, Kanae assumed his prey was Yako. It had always been her.

She tried to catch up with them again as soon as she made her way to the other side of the street. Seeing Neuro turn to a nearby corner, Kanae's eyebrow's scrunched.

_This is not the way to Yako's house!_

* * *

><p>Kagohara Kanae, after running after Nougami Neuro and the poorly-hauled Katsuragi Yako for about half an hour, after riding a crowded train with the evasive duo, and after being stared at by passersby for running like a madman, ended up over in front of the Nougami household—and she didn't even know how or why.<p>

Panting for deep lungfuls of much needed air, she supported herself on the doorway, lazily tugging off her shoes with her weary toes.

As soon as she entered—muttering a silent, "Sorry for intruding" as she did so—Kanae heard the nearby echo of Yako's voice from the living room. She assumed that Neuro was still hauling her like a sack of potatoes. A distant holler of "_wait in the living room!_" was heard. Kanae hummed as she stepped on the plush rug that met her feet.

_Judging from the way she said it, it looks like she's used to being in this house. Hm..._

She trudged upon what she assumed was the living room, making herself comfortable on the luxurious-looking couch. She curled her toes on the soft and warm carpet. _Nougami-san likes bonsai trees, it seems._

A flurry of steps was heard from the spacious hallway, and Zera came tumbling and panting in Kanae's field of vision.

"Kagohara-_sama _should wait for them to finish!" the caretaker bellowed, unmindful of the ugly bump on his forehead.

"Why? And why was Nougami-_san _in a hurry, anyway?"

At this, Zera seemed to calm down, smoothing out his maid uniform (Kanae shuddered at the sight—_those legs need to be shaved!_) and toying with the hems of his tiny apron. (S)he tried to think of what his master said just a few minutes ago the moment he barged in the house hauling Yako over his shoulder.

"'It will melt!' he said, and I don't know what will melt," and Zera blinked and stared at the lone bonsai tree near the doorway, not really comprehending his master's words.

Kanae quirked an eyebrow, frowning, "What will mel—oh," and realization dawned on her as her eyes widened, her lips curling in a leer as her hand hid her widening smile, "I get it. Hn, yes. Yes, it will definitely melt... I see... Hm..." And Kanae seemed to drift off in her own world, smiling and giggling to herself with a scary-sounding cackle.

Zera, remaining as clueless as ever, could only scratch his head.

* * *

><p>"Neuro! That was not what I—ah!"<p>

"Shut it, kitten. Your voice will echo downstairs. I haven't soundproofed my room yet."

Neuro deposited Yako offhandedly on the bed, satisfied upon hearing the "oomph" that tumbled from her glossed lips as her face made contact on the mattress.

He was yet to turn on the lights in his room.

The small, pink-and-blue bag that had been in Neuro's hold for the past hour had remained perfectly neat—as expected from him. Yako's condition, on the other hand, was a far cry from her newly-bought apparel. Tousled hair, aching muscles, flushed face—she had been thrown over that broad shoulder blade, with her face bumping on his chest and her poor legs aimlessly dangling from his back. The only thing she could think of was that she buried her face on his musk-and-earth scented long-sleeved shirt—just to hide herself from shame.

Yako groaned as she turned over the bed, effectively crumpling the thigh-high skirt that she wore as she raised her legs. No, she wasn't thinking of anything malicious, really. She just wanted to stretch her aching bones and—

"—gah! Neuro, get off me!"

"Don't wanna."

She groaned. He was crushing her ribs with his weight—!

"Hey, Yako," the blond started, and she didn't like how that deepening voice was creeping close to her ear. "Let me dress you in your flimsy garments, for once."

Yako shivered beneath that hot breath on her skin. Too much, too much!

"K-Kanae-_chan _is..."

"Oh, hush. I told that _okama _to entertain her with his fashion magazines or something."

"B-but...!"

Yako couldn't finish her sentence as Neuro dumped the bag filled with underwear on her face.

"Geh—Neuro—mmph!"

"I had spent an ample amount of money for this. Don't waste it."

"But I didn't even want half of what you bought for m—ah..."

"You were saying, kitten?" His voice was dripping with sadistic amusement, his fingers dancing on the small box that contained the edible brassiere. He had been too excited, and it was showing on his face-splitting grin.

Neuro opened the box and took out the brassiere, hovering it on Yako's flushed face. The "fabric" was becoming slightly softer than it should be—

—he shouldn't waste any time.

* * *

><p>"Aomi-<em>san<em>, they have been up there for fifteen minutes now."

"Oh, but they always take about two hours before they finish... Or was it three? ...I can't remember."

Kanae paled from her seat on the couch. She had been talking to Zera about the latest trends in the fashion world—_someone needs a makeover!_—and suddenly (s)he mentioned _that_!

"Two or three hours to finish what?" she dumbly asked. No, she shouldn't think of inappropriate thoughts—

"Two or three hours to finish their uh... what did he call it..." Zera hummed and snapped his finger, searching his mind for a word that Neuro once mentioned to him, and when he did remember it, he clapped.

"Foreplay! Yes, that's what he called it!"

Kanae's mouth fell agape.

* * *

><p>"N-Neuro, don't—the bed sheets—!"<p>

"Eh? So what? It's not you who's cleaning them, anyway, unless you want to apply to be a maid in this house—"

"No way!"

"Heh."

And Neuro struggled to remove Yako of her clothes, stripping her fully naked to his eyes in mere seconds.

The edible undergarment was lying in a heap beside them, as though waiting for it to be consumed.

Yako panted for breath. Her hands became weak and heavy from trying to pry Neuro away from her. Her hair became even messier than earlier, her chest heaving much needed oxygen as her glassy honeyed eyes gazed at Neuro's fully clothed form.

"Not fair," she rasped, still trying to catch her breath as she weakly bucked her hips, "you're still wearing clothes." And with that, she mustered a tiny, crooked smile of her own, one that made Neuro's body shiver with anticipation.

"Eager, are we?" he mused out loud, smiling lopsidedly as he tugged on his black, long-sleeved shirt, taking it off slowly as to prolong his skin exposure to Yako's hazy eyes.

She whined. She knew what he was up to, and she was liking and hating it at the same time. _That tease!_

He finally removed his shirt, throwing it to his bedroom door.

Yako unconsciously bit her lip and curled her toes, her mouth watering at the sight in front of her.

A light sheen of sweat bathed Neuro's chest—the moonlight showed the perfect highlights and shadows that sculpted his manly form.

"Like what you see?" he lazily droned as he grinned at her. He could see her mischievous hazel eyes greedily lapping up his form. It was a great thing that he ran earlier, then.

His sweat combined with his cologne served as his pheromones to her and—

—what he expected from her didn't happen. However, what Yako did exceeded his expectations.

With all of the womanly strength she could muster, Yako flipped Neuro on his back, reversing their positions and trapping him beneath her arduous touch.

Their lips collided messily, with Neuro almost drooling at the feel of her warmth on his bare skin.

_Control, control._

Their hands fumbled clumsily on each other's bodies, damp palms gliding over slowly perspiring skin and too-eager flesh. Neuro blindly reached out for the edible treat that he had been trying to put Yako on for the past half an hour, and once he did felt it on his fingertips, he broke their searing kiss—and Yako whined.

"Now, now, little kitten. Not so fast," he cooed, and he waved the still solid, mint-flavored bra in front of her eyes, "I want you to wear this."

With no hesitation, she lifted herself and turned her back on him, panting still.

Neuro merely raised an eyebrow, lips curling in a satisfied smile; and with one hand, he supported himself to a sitting position, cupping Yako close to him as he did so.

She now sat on his lap, her bare buttocks almost touching Neuro's jeans-clad crotch, and her lower regions twitched.

"Hold out your arms."

She wordlessly complied, stifling a smile and willing her heart to slow down its beating.

* * *

><p>A loud thud from upstairs surprised Kanae and Zera, who were watching a soap opera on NHK. The two looked up.<p>

And the sound of something—_or someone!_—being dragged was faintly heard.

"Should we stop them?" Kanae asked, wide, brown eyes still looking at the ceiling. _What are they doing up there!_

Zera merely shrugged as he turned his attention back to the screen.

"Leave them be. Neuro-_sama _wouldn't let anyone disturb them."

"Have they done it, then?"

"No. The mistress is still a maiden."

At this, Kanae felt relieved, and she blinked at the caretaker's passive face, "I see." _I see Aomi-san calls Yako a mistress._

"Neuro-_sama_, despite his almost perverted nature, still has an impressive amount of control."

* * *

><p>"N-Neu—ah—"<p>

The sound of his fist meeting the carpet was heard, muffling its noise.

Yako arched her back, her hands swinging to his tangled hair and his broad shoulder blades as she panted for her dear life. Her lips were swollen from Neuro's ardent kisses. Her neck and her hips were littered with numerous love bites, her toes curling upon hearing his labored breathing.

His lips, teeth and tongue lapped onto her damp form, his attention intent on the soft and sweet treat draped upon Yako's bosom.

A feral suck on her teat rendered Yako breathless, its vulgar sound sending trickles of pleasure to her core. Neuro was a ruthless beast tonight—his guttural grunts and heavy panting told her so. His scalp was already clammy with sweat, the blond and black locks clinging onto his perspiring face.

Yako also had given him her fair share of bliss—her playful teeth nipping onto his clavicles and fingers, her nails grazing onto his tepid back, her hips bucking eagerly to his, her puffy lips and moist mouth feebly gasping out his name, just enough to hear it from his reddened ear—such were her actions, and with each puff of breath that he heard from her, he took more of her petite breasts into his insatiable mouth, gulping and sucking her as much as he could.

She could feel the familiar dampness on her womanhood, and a stray line of drool trickled from her mouth as she felt Neuro squeezing her buttocks.

Oh, how she loved _that_.

Animalistic groans filled the dark room, and the raunchy pair slithered on the carpeted floor, their forms akin to that of snakes in heat, and Neuro lifted Yako onto his lap, still clutching onto her firm peach globes with a shameless slap, and he rubbed his partly exposed, boxer-clad self onto her naked form, gasping heavily still.

He continued on his merciless—_enjoyable_—assault on Yako's body, his arms grinding her onto him—his moves were becoming shaky, restless, his breathing became more ragged as he clamped his teeth onto her already mark-laden neck.

"_Close—almost—"_

His tongue lapped her clammy skin, licking the stray beads of sweat that formed there. His long and damp eyelashes kissed her hypersensitive ear, and Yako shuddered with a soft sigh as her small hands grabbed onto his disheveled locks.

Their sweat melded with the sweetness of her edible underwear—smearing its melted and erotic mess onto their heated bodies—and Neuro let out a weak rasp as he sucked on the mint-and-chocolate treat that clung onto her skin. Yako, too, did the same, albeit more slowly than Neuro's pace—hers was more languid, more precise n the areas that needed her attention (those collarbones of his were tempting her), whereas his was rougher, more ravenous in his actions (he couldn't get enough of those humble breasts of hers—_too perky!_), and their fervid voices synched in a passionate melody.

A tear rolled from her caramel eyes and a choked cry sang from her lips as Yako tilted her head back, and Neuro trembled beneath her body with a muffled growl, burying his head onto the crook of her neck as they came.

* * *

><p>Another thud was heard from above the ceiling, and Zera sighed.<p>

"Are they done yet?" Kanae asked, her ears covered with throw pillows as she spoke. She had been hearing improper sounds from upstairs for over an hour—sounds that she _should not_ be hearing as of her young age.

_Have they always been this loud?_

"Yes, I think they are. Though this time, they're earlier than usual, maybe because Kagohara-_sama_ is here," Zera mumbled as he ate a piece of macaroon—he had made some for the guest and for his master and mistress.

Kanae gulped as she stared blankly at the TV screen. No, she did _not_ need to know that.

"B-but… um. How do I phrase this," Kanae's shifty eyes darted left and right, alternating from the TV screen to the carpet—_nice Persian rug_—and she gulped, "does Yako's parents know of thi—"

It was a choked gasp that was heard from beside her, and Kanae looked at the white-faced Zera, "Oh, good heavens, no! Neuro-_sama_ would never let them know of this! He wanted their approval from the beginning—since he was seven! Which is why he never touched Yako-_sama_ on places that should be a burden to her innocence!"

It took a moment for her to take all of the caretaker's words in, and she giggled, "I see. Then how about Nougami-_san_'s parents?" The second the words left her mouth, she bit her lips and mentally cursed herself—Yako once told her that it was an unmentionable subject. _Damn._

"Oh. They're fine with it. At least, I think they're fine with it, they never really think much of their own so—darn, shouldn't have said that," and this time, it was Zera who bit his chapped and too-thick lips, his frame quivered—for Neuro's wrath, Kanae assumed—and he bit his nails as he nervously glanced at the doorway, as though he was expecting for someone frightening to pop out from the shadows. His odd behavior became contagious to the brown-haired girl, her wide, brown eyes blinking at the doorway—expecting for a tall blond to suddenly appear with his constant deceiving smile.

An awkward silence followed, and they waited with bated breath, and nothing came.

They let out a withheld sigh, looked at each other, and laughed.

* * *

><p>The room, as dark as it was, was a complete mess―judging from the stickiness that Neuro felt as he moved.<p>

He and Yako had been lying on the floor for at least fifteen minutes, and frankly, the rough carpet had never provided him enough comfort to sleep in.

Sitting up with a strained groan, he tried to flex his muscles, and felt an annoying sensation of something sticky clinging onto his skin. He stood up and blindly reached for the switch on the lamplight―the moon had disappeared behind the clouds―and as soon as the light assaulted his eyes, he cursed and blinked. Turning around, he saw how disastrous their little "playtime" had become.

Trails of stale chocolate stains swirled on the carpet, along with a large, brown handprint―that Neuro assumed as his―were tattooed beside the area where Yako's head laid.

He smirked.

Yako, still sleeping contentedly after their post-euphoric high, laid bare for all of him to see. Her milky white skin combined with the marks he had put on her were a nice contrast with the thin smears of mint goops and melted chocolate on her bosom and stomach.

He had made a mess of her―and he loved it.

_Beautiful._

After appreciating Yako's body with his ravenous eyes for over six minutes and two seconds, he huffed and went over to her sleeping form.

"Hey, strumpet. Wake up," Neuro ordered, nudging Yako's tummy lightly with his foot. He grinned when he saw her stir in her short-lived slumber―that petite bosom of hers jiggled as she moved to one side.

She groaned, frowning upon opening her tired eyes. Something looked totally off about what she was seeing―

―she immediately sat up and remembered what she had just done with Neuro and―

"Dishrag, we're bathing in our filth. Get up so we can clean ourselves."

"Ow―you don't have to step on my face!"

"Heh. You just looked like a doormat a second there, I felt the need to use it to wipe the stains off of my feet."

"But my face―!"

"Bah, shut it, piggy. My skin's itching."

"Gyah―where are you taking me! Don't drag me by my hair!"

At this, Neuro sighed as he unlocked the door and continued to drag her like a sack. Yako looked at the door knob all the while wincing in pain—she hadn't noticed him locking it earlier.

"We need a shower, stupid," he grumbled as he flung the bedroom door closed, not before checking to see if the coast was clear on the outside. _At least Zera's not here._

Yako made a half-hearted protest―being literally dragged along was painful, seeing as her bare butt was scratching the carpet―but she made no loud and vocal complaint. She could sense that should she yell at this man, Kanae might hear them. And she wouldn't want that.

Huffing as he entered the bathroom―it was a mere three meters away from his room―he hauled poor Yako over his shoulder and patted her sore bottom, and he closed the door, clicking the lock with a smile that Yako knew all too well.

"Neuro, don't tell me you're going to take a shower in _that_," scoffed Yako as she stared at Neuro for the first time since she fully woke up.

His usually tidy blond-and-black hair was messy, too ruffled and mussed, and the familiar color and scent of chocolate tinged with mint lingered from his locks. His eyes were brighter, livelier than they had been a few hours ago. His lips, which were usually thin and pale, were swollen and were sloppily dyed in brown―from the chocolate, she was sure. Stale and thin smears of mint and chocolate messily lined the contours of his face and jaw and shoulders―though it was a bit compared to the amount that got stuck on his hands. Long and pink streaks of nail and scratch marks lined his torso all the way to his navel―five ghastly lines streamed from each of the length of his arms (he seemed to pay no mind to it, though). His pale neck and collarbones were now tinged a deep pink-red, from Yako's unforgiving nips and bites; her teeth marks could clearly be seen from his shoulders.

And finally, those _damned_ blue jeans.

Those jeans have been tempting her for quite some time—_rip them off of him already!_—a steady voice had been screaming in her head, but she paid it no heed. Besides, she had once heard that imagination would be fulfilling if you use it to the fullest.

_In that case, that's one huge bulge hiding behind those stupid jeans. They just won't fall from him!_

Neuro, sensing that Yako was eyeing him rather greedily, didn't make an effort to hide his amusement as he inched near her stunned form, forest green eyes forever trained on her countenance. "Like what you see?" he mumbled rather playfully, his index finger kissing the pinkness of her chocolate-stained skin. She had always been falling in a trance whenever her skin fell beneath that butterfly-light touch—it was his weapon to undo all of her inhibitions.

Almost immediately, she nodded and bit on his finger that was coated in melted chocolate and mint, lapping on it with a distinct suck.

"I see you're happy, little slave."

"Hn."

He immediately popped his finger out of her too tempting mouth, ignoring her barely audible whine. The torture, as much as he loathed to admit it, was too much for him.

Hauling her over his shoulder once again―this time, she didn't protest―he turned on the shower to its hottest setting and forced Yako's right leg to the searing liquid, making her yell for her life.

Once he deemed her skin red enough, he switched it to freezing cold temperature, and her yelps returned tenfold.

He silenced her screaming mouth with a rough kiss, nipping and biting and hissing on her perfectly smooth and swollen lips and slick tongue as he tasted the remains of chocolate on her skin.

He laved his tongue on the expanse of her hickey-and-bruise-riddled neck, simultaneously going inside the bathtub just as he slowly turned the knob to his preferred water temperature, cradling the naked Yako in the crook of his arms.

She sighed the second her back met the soothing warmth of the water, her arms wrapped around his neck and her chest pressing close to Neuro's as he tugged his jeans with one hand, the other cradling her still.

The drenched denim pooled around his feet, and with his toes, he kicked it away from the tub―

―just as he felt Yako rubbing herself on his boxer-clad self.

"Not fair," she grumbled, her bitty fingers on her left hand tugging on the waistband―

"Turn around, stupid," and he slowly put her down, noting that most of the mess on her body was being drowned away by the water.

"But―"

_"Do it."_

She quickly did as she was told.

"Hands on the wall. Bottom out."

"Eh―"

"Don't make me repeat myself."

She gulped and followed his orders. She didn't know what to fear more the fact that his stern voice was being used on her or the fact that she was secretly being turned on by said stern voice.

A quick slap was delivered to her right thigh, and a delighted gasp flowed from her lips.

She heard a chuckle behind her, and try as she might to crane her neck to see his expression, she couldn't do anything as much, seeing as he was now burying his face on her neck.

"My little slave is such a masochist... I'm so _proud_, kitty," he whispered hotly to her ear, and she couldn't help but let a smile bloom on her blushing face. It might be something weird for such a reason to be proud of for some, but for Yako, it was a big deal.

Her being praised by Neuro meant she would be reaping some quite _indulgent _rewards later on.

Something hard and clothed pressed firmly onto her backside, and she bit her lip and curled her bitty toes.

"'You won't be seeing it until we're married' was our rule, remember? And I won't get to touch you down there directly until we are bound by the bonds of such union. I'm sure you remember that quite well?"

And Yako whined, grinding her hips to him. She felt his arms encircling her waist, and her breath hitched as Neuro pushed her back close against his chest. His hand flitted to hers, and he guided it to the waistband of his boxers.

She gasped.

"You may get to take it off if you so wish. Just don't linger for longer than a second. Don't even try to look at it―I'll know if you do."

Yako could almost feel the familiar and wide grin splitting his handsome face as his hands slowly repositioned themselves on her barely noticeable love handles. _He's too cruel!_

With a suppressed moan―from the pleasure she was being denied at―she flicked her thumb inside Neuro's boxer's waistband; and waiting for only a split second, she quickly tugged it down with her eyes closed. She knew it was a stupid act, her eyes were already facing the tiled walls. There was no need for her to close them, too!

But I feel like I'm treading on eggshells here, she thought.

"It's not fully off of me yet, strumpet," he said quite cheerfully, his sadistic nature dripping from his every word.

He saw Yako take a deep gulp of her saliva, cursing beneath her breath as her shaky hands blindly grasped for his awkwardly-worn and bunched-up boxers. She felt them up to his upper thigh―_I bet he's having the time of his life right now! This insufferable man!_

His hands then travelled to her shoulders, and that _damned_, too alluring and baritone voice of his seeped deliciously to her senses, "Yako, we don't have all day."

She bit back a groan, and without a second thought, her hands grabbed each side of the fabric, and with her eyes snapped tightly shut, she kneeled, dragging the soaked undergarment with her.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it, kitten?"

She grumbled, and Neuro, sensing her discomfort, laughed as he pulled her to stand, her back still facing him.

"Feel _this_, Yako."

And he smothered her body flush against his, making sure she could feel _something _that was not there a few seconds ago.

Neuro felt Yako's body grow cold.

"_This_ is what you're doing to me every single day. Not even giving me a chance to calm me _there _for a second―no thanks to your persuasion."

Yako could hear his breath growing heavier as he talked. _Oh._

A large hand cupped her breast, fondling and squeezing it in his touch, and he felt her body slowly grow warm against his skin.

She was panting.

He nipped her ear, knowing well it was her weak spot; and her knees almost bucked.

"We're going to have a _lot _of fun tonight, slave. Go on, let those two downstairs hear your voice." And he slid his manhood in between the cleavage of her buttocks, making sure she could feel every inch of him.

Yako stiffened―

―and she moaned.

* * *

><p>Kanae had been hearing them through her mind.<p>

Those laughs, those moans, those sounds that she should not be hearing until she got married―

―it was already past midnight, and she couldn't sleep.

Tossing and turning over her bed―the smell, despite it not being used since the Nougami house was made (according to Zera), was crisp and clean―Kanae groaned in what she assumed was annoyance. The walls of the guest room were thick, and were painted in a peaceful sky blue, just like the Owner's bedroom. She had glanced at it earlier before she went to bed, making sure that Yako was decent in her sleep (and she was); Neuro, on the other hand, had been a bit indecent when she had peeked in his room―clad in only the electric blue blanket that had been draped over Yako and him, Kanae didn't know if he was wearing _something _beneath that blanket.

_Don't go to strange thoughts._

She sighed as she turned over once more, her eyes facing the white ceiling darkened by the still of the night.

With her chin tucked beneath the comfort of her coverlets, her brown eyes tried to vainly make out as much of the room as possible―the light from the moon gazing upon her window was a blessing to her current state.

_He has nice tastes in furniture._

Her mind drifted from one thing to another, from the complexity of Yako and Neuro's bonds of affection, to her own case of complexity with Yukinori. _I hope we'll get along the next time we meet—that'll be on Monday...!_

And she groaned, burying her face beneath the safety of her warm blanket, inhaling a quite familiar scent.

_Nougami-san's cologne, I think._

Kanae's face suddenly turned red.

_Am I doing something wrong here by inhaling my best friend's fiancé's scent?_

She sniffed the fabric again.

_...I hope not._

She sniffed the musk-and-earth scent once more, and her eyes shifted from left to right.

_Gosh. It smells good...!_

And with one deep intake of air, she sighed wistfully—then slapped herself.

_Rule number one—don't fantasize about your best friend's fiancé. That's a huge no-no._

She then turned on one side, clutching a pillow close to her chest, and she cursed.

_Even the pillows smell like him!_

She faced the ceiling once again, huffing as she did so.

_How can I even sleep like this!_

* * *

><p>"Kanae-<em>chan<em>! Aomi-_san _told me you slept on the floor last night! That never happened to you before."

Kanae almost tripped over nothing.

"I-it was just a coincidence that Aomi-_san_ found me there...!" _Crap. They didn't know I didn't sleep at all! Curse that addicting scent! _

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you were all right. I know how bad it could be waking up on the floor—Neuro pushed me from the bed to the floor twice... it was not pleasant." And Yako, sensing that she had uttered too much, said nothing more as she then smiled towards Neuro, who was walking beside her, his hand clasped onto hers as it had always been since they were kids. Kanae kept silent about Neuro's silence, not in the mood to be in her usual teasing mode.

It was Monday, one week left of school before they enter the spring break, and after that, just a few weeks more, and they would be senior high school students.

Kanae sighed.

_Time flies so fast..._

* * *

><p>Yukinori took a huge gulp of the canned beer offered to him by Shinobu. The platinum-haired male had been doing nothing but to drink since he and Kanae had a fight.<p>

He realized he had been too brash on their relationship—failing to see her point of view about certain aspects.

_Stupid me._

"'ey, Boss. Stop it with all the depressin' crap. Ya were never like this before," Shinobu observed from where he sat, leaning against the railings of the school roof with a huff. He had been the lackey of this "depressing" man for a week now—before, it was the "Monster's", and now this?

"Kanae turned me into that 'depressin' crap', Godai. No one has ever done that to me."

"Geh. When did ya get all mushy and shit?"

Yukinori laughed, his hand flipping here and there as he spoke, "That girl does wonders for me, I tell ya. One time, she—"

And his cell phone rang, cutting him off from his otherwise short speech.

Answering it without checking who it was, his smile widened as a familiar voice sounded from the other line.

_"Kanae."_

* * *

><p>Yako flitted about in her room, bouncing on her bed with a smile, "I wonder how they're doing right now, I can't help but feel excited for them!"<p>

"Bah. If there's any reason for you to get excited for, it's that it's time for your tutorials for History," Neuro quipped, slapping Yako's thigh with his filler notebook. "You're one mark away from getting a glaring red ink."

"Neuro, I _don't _get glaring red marks," she pouted, stomping her feet on his lap rather playfully—he was on the floor—

"Oh, I'm sorry. I need to correct myself," Neuro interjected. "You get neon and glaring red marks," and he guffawed at his own joke, ignoring Yako's tantrums.

"I don't get those marks either!"

Neuro huffed, his expression seemingly proud—of Yako, she assumed.

"Well then, if that's the case, then you need to show me what you've learned so far," he said, in that cool way of his—smiling at Yako's sudden apprehension.

"B-but—"

"No buts, stupid. I'll quiz you on Muromachi period—"

"Geh—"

"Quiz. Muromachi. Now."

Yako's lips trembled—and she slid to the floor, sitting closely next to him, "…Yessir." _I can never win against him…_

He quizzed her on her Japanese history—_How could you get all the answers wrong when you yourself are a Japanese, you maggot!_—and for every wrong answer she gave, Neuro gave her a corresponding punishment—ten harsh slaps to each thigh for each wrong answer.

So far, she had all nine answers wrong.

Neuro sighed, "You're getting all of it wrong, piggy. Are you doing it on purpose?" Yako hastily shook her head, to which he replied with a crack of his shoulders, "I've been spanking you for a full half an hour, if you get the last one wrong, say goodbye to your ass."

"Eh! B-but…!"

"When did the Ounin War occur?"

"B-but—"

"_Ounin War. When._"

Yako cringed and leaned away from his invasive stance. _Those eyes could kill!_

She gulped. "Um… Year 1357?"

"_Wrong._ It happened for ten years. From 1467 to 1477."

A squeak escaped Yako's lips as Neuro tied her on her own bed in a blink of an eye—_tying me with his belt!_

"Watch me torture you with your food," he huffed proudly, sitting elegantly and cross-legged on the edge of the mattress as he took the last slice of blueberry cheesecake from the top of her dresser, ignoring Yako's cries and banshee wails. He huffed as he eyed her teary-eyed form, "You did this upon yourself, Yako. I'm just doing what should have been done earlier." He sighed almost wistfully, "And I was thinking of giving this to you as your reward if you answered at least one correctly..."

She tried to break free from the bonds of her restraints, but to no avail, "What? No! Not my cheesecake!"

He took a huge mouthful of said cheesecake, making Yako holler for her sanity.

"You demon!"

* * *

><p>Finals week. The week where hell would rear its ugly head and would crawl out of each student's body.<p>

Katsuragi Yako was no exception.

She had been feeling cranky for the past week, thanks to Neuro's Sadistic Spartan tutoring—and the only way to make it up to her was for him to give her an ample amount of food after each hour of teaching.

And now, it was their final test for the week.

"Yako, I sure hope all my hard work will not be in vain because of your puny intelligence," Neuro teased, nudging Yako's cheek with his socked foot.

She puffed her cheeks as she stared at the scribble-ridden blackboard, "I'm doing the best that I can here," and she leaned to her right, poking the smiling Mutsuki with a pencil, "right, Mutsuki-_tan_?" The girl smiled, and Mutsuki was about to comment on it, however, their homeroom teacher had just entered the class.

"Okay, settle down, everyone! It's time for the final level of hell!" Jun said enthusiastically, tapping his hand against the surface of the teacher's table as he tried to silence his students down. And when they did, they tried to suppress their laughter.

_Sensei found corny jokes again!_

"You're all laughing," Jun smiled as he arranged the test papers in his hands, "I would like you see you guys try to laugh when you get these." And he got off of the small platform, distributing the test papers to the suddenly silent students.

Neuro simply hid a smile, and toyed with the soles of Yako's shoes, chuckling when he saw her foot nudged his.

_Hell, eh? Let's see about that._

* * *

><p>Yako had been feeling overjoyed since the moment she had seen her grades for the finals.<p>

"I passed! I passed! Neuro, I passed!" she happily cried as she bounded from the halls, and jumping right into the field of Neuro's broad back.

"Of course you did, worm. I was the one who taught you."

Yako laughed at his comment. True, it was a huge thanks to Neuro that she aced her exams, and as they have been doing so for the past eleven years, it was Yako and Neuro's tradition to give something of much value to the other if either of them succeeded in their quizzes or exams.

Today was no exception.

"So, where will you take me this time?" asked Yako happily, her arms instinctively clinging onto his arm, as she was used to. Kanae and Mutsuki have been planning to go to the park today to celebrate—_hanamizake!_—with lots of food and sake for the occasion, and Yako had happily agreed to it, especially Shinobu and Yukinori.

Kanae had reconciled with Yukinori once more, admitting that she had a long way to go to reach Neuro and Yako's level of trust and intimacy. Yukinori had complied to Kanae's wishes to stay at a slow and steady pace, stating to a then smug Neuro that Yukinori will someday make Kanae as "submissive as the Neuron's Kitten", to which Yako had replied with a furious round of senseless babble.

Neuro, being as playful as he had always been whenever it comes to Yako, tugged her close to his torso, and he shifted his whole weight on her back.

"I'll take you to the toy shop I was talking about the other day."

Yako tried her best to ignore the fact that her knees started to wobble the moment he hauled himself on her. The people around them looked at Yako with mixed expressions of pity and amusement.

"But what about our flower viewing? You promised me we'll go to the park with the others!"

She could sense him pouting on her back. Those legs were winding around her tiny waist—_we look like idiots!_—and his six feet flat height was not helping her much.

"We'll go to the shop after that, then."

Yako struggled to take another step, they were near the stairs now. "Great...! Um, could you get off now? You're cutting my air—"

Neuro, who merely looked at Yako's struggling form with much amusement, chose to wiggle his weight on her back even more. A happily chirped, "no" was his answer. And Yako wailed.

* * *

><p>Their cherry blossom viewing had been sheer relaxation. Nothing but seeing the pink petals fall from the trees and onto their cups of sake—something which Neuro had hated (<em>not on my cup, Nature<em>)—it could have been a nice form of unwinding if it hadn't been for Shinobu cursing every few seconds (because Neuro had been taking and throwing out his cup every time the bleach-haired male would take a shot of liquor).

Yukinori, for once, had invited over his brother to the park, and as expected, their little picnic had turned somehow awkward for a moment. It was Mutsuki who turned the table around and turned the conversation lively once again.

Neuro and Yako had left their picnic early, for Neuro had promised that he'd take her to his "favored toy shop"—

—only, Yako had turned pale the moment she saw the shop he had been talking about.

An adult toy store.

She had hid herself behind the safety of Neuro's back the whole time they were there, often taking a quick peek whenever he had picked up something from the shelves.

It had been a risqué experience, to say the least.

They—or Neuro, to be precise—ended up buying things and even stranger things after that, stating that he will use all of them on Yako on their wedding night and honeymoon.

Yako didn't know whether to be flattered that he was offering her such things or to be scared of the fact that he was openly fantasizing about her—_since when?_—even so, she felt a bit pleased, knowing that Neuro would go to such lengths to give her pleasure. Or maybe it's for both of us, she thought.

On their eighteenth birthday, and on the day of the opening ceremony of their third year in senior high, Neuro had received numerous phone calls from his home, a well-concealed fact from Yako. He made sure that she would never know of such a thing.

Zera, as loyal to Neuro as he was, couldn't shake the feeling that he _should _tell it to Yako, despite Neuro's life-threatening words.

"Hello?" the caretaker shakily mumbled as he held the receiver slightly away from his too large ear. He knew who had been calling the Nougami household. Yet, even so—

—_they_ should have no knowledge of the house's telephone number. Zera himself never told it to _them_.

_"Hello?" _the line at the other end squeaked, a noisy static gurgling at Zera's hearing as he nervously glanced at the caller's ID.

It was a number he knew quite well.

Zera didn't speak anymore. He knew that his Master never once spoke whenever _this _number called the house—the servant should do the same.

There was a hush of breath from the other line; Zera did not dare _breathe _as the static died out.

The Nougami caretaker gulped.

_"Zera?"_

The voice of a woman, a stern and no-nonsense tune echoed in his cold ears. _That _voice—

_"Zera, is my son there?"_

And Aomi Zera slammed the phone down.

_This is bad...!_

* * *

><p>Ehrmergerd. We're finally getting somewhere~! XD And it took 16 pages this time, too! D: *so happeh* Readers, at least give me some feedback to know how I'm doing~! OAO It will keep me on track. :3<p> 


	17. Osculum

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen: Osculum <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **To vampire-fetish15, just to clear things up—no, they did not have anal smex. D: Just... non-penetrative smex, or what I'd like to call "Neuro's way of successfully teasing Yako without the need of showing his family jewels to her". XD I'd never make Neuro go down the anal route. D:

* * *

><p>Cold sweat drenched his brow and back as he walked back and forth, back and forth, and he chewed on his nails, as he restlessly paced in the living room. Zera was sure that he'll create a hole in the Persian rug.<p>

Crumpling the hems of his maid uniform—that he himself made—Zera took a shaky breath, pacing restlessly still, as large and trembling hands ran over his mussed up hair.

"H-he won't like this... He won't like this..."

"What is it that I won't like?"

Zera gasped upon hearing that baritone voice and sharply turned around, and squealed in the most annoying way possible—for Neuro's standards—the second (s)he laid eyes on Neuro and Yako standing by the doorway, their hands loosely clasped together.

"N-Neuro-_sama_! Yako-_sama_! I-I didn't see you there!" he nervously quipped. His fists balled behind his sweat-drenched back as his eyes looked at them with what Yako assumed as fear. Her eyebrows rose.

"Of course you didn't see us, you worthless snot. You were too busy making a hole in my rug," Neuro coolly replied as he assessed his caretaker's expression. Wide and unfocused eyes shifted left and right, his torso leaning and shifting frantically. Those burly hands of Zera's were bunched up to his chest, his sausage-like fingers unceremoniously grabbing onto his too-wrinkled apron. His back was hunched, his jaw was tense and his thick lips were coarse and dry.

Neuro frowned.

"Something the matter, Pus?"

And as he predicted, Zera's whole body froze.

* * *

><p>Yako was sitting stiffly in Neuro's bed, dressed in her uniform; her shoulders squared and her lips curled in a small frown as she eyed the bedroom door.<p>

_He told me not to go out unless he says so. I wonder why?_

Her toes curled from within her socks. She was tense. Something was wrong. Neuro would never keep her away from him unless it was something that involved danger—at least, she thought that was how his mind worked when it came to her safety.

Deciding whether to obey him or not, her eyes drifted to the nightstand sitting beside his bed. Her forefinger tapped the side of the mattress impatiently; her teeth biting onto her lower lip. Sighing, and thinking that Neuro would take more time on talking with Zera—_whatever that's about_—she pulled out the topmost drawer, and was not surprised to find five mechanical pencils and a bunch of sudoku puzzles neatly arranged inside. She smiled.

_Typical Neuro._

Shutting it close and opening the next drawer, she gasped upon seeing what was inside.

Boxers. _Lots _of boxers.

She immediately slammed it shut, fighting the blush away from her cheeks. _I didn't see anything...!_

Gulping and fiddling with her fingers resting on her knees as she glanced at the door, she mumbled a quiet apology to no one in particular.

Looking at the third drawer, she contemplated on taking a quick peek at it, though her thoughts were cut short as the door slowly opened and Neuro appeared, looking somewhat tense.

"Yako, I'm taking you home."

Yako immediately straightened her back and faced him with surprise, "Eh? Why? What happened?"

Neuro shrugged as nonchalantly as he could, but Yako could sense the tension seeping to his poker-faced countenance.

"I'll tell you on the way. Come on."

* * *

><p>Yako squished herself closer to Neuro as much as she could, leaving her no choice but to wrap her arms around his waist loosely.<p>

The train shook as it stopped on a station, making her tumble just the slightest. Neuro had been holding her close around her bottom just in case some random groper would grab her by her behind—those piercing green eyes were on the lookout for potential perverted individuals, as he had always been.

Yako remained grabbing onto him even as the people on the train lessened; she needed the time to think. Rubbing her face on his torso, she groaned, frowning as Neuro lightly patted her butt.

Neuro's parents have been calling him incessantly since March—and their son had been ignoring them. Or so what he said to Yako.

She didn't know whether to feel bad for Neuro for being neglected by his own parents during his early years or to feel bad for his parents because of Neuro's own way of telling them he never needed them for the past fourteen years.

It was clearly not her problem, but still—it was _Neuro's _problem. And try as he may to put up a passive façade in front of her, she could clearly see and feel how much Neuro tried hard not to say anything to her—perhaps, it was his way of telling her not to worry?

_But how can I not worry if I can clearly see him getting all clammed up about his parents?_

She sighed and rubbed her face on his clothes once more, inhaling the scent of his cologne—it soothed her at times like these.

It was then that she felt a large hand lightly smoothing out her hair in a stiff and awkward manner. Yako almost laughed. Neuro had never been used to try and comfort others—this was a first.

She looked up at him, her chin tucked on the softness of his overcoat as she smiled, "Thank you for telling me your problems."

"Hmph. I never intended to tell it to you, but I fail to see the need for you to thank me. I see no reason to be thanked."

He wasn't looking at her as he spoke, his eyes focused on the glass windows of the train instead of looking at her.

_Is he embarrassed?_

She stifled a giggle, "If one tells a person about their problems, it means that they trust you."

"...Is that so?" he was still not looking at her, but Yako could see the faintest taint of pink brushing his pale cheeks. How uncharacteristic of him, but still—!

She smiled, and lightly kissed his clothed chest.

The act made Neuro hum.

"What was that for?" he asked, his tone curious and void of malice as he now turned and blinked his ethereal green eyes at her, and Yako couldn't help but to hold him closer.

"It means 'I love you'." There. She said it. And she didn't even know why. _It's not really the right time to say it, huh?_

"And why are you telling this now?"

"It's because I've never said it to you before," she pouted and puffed her cheeks. _Why do I feel like I have been insulted in the most discreet way possib—!_

Her thoughts were cut off—and without noticing it—as Neuro lifted her by the back of her thighs with his right arm, inching her face close to his. Her eyes widened.

And without saying anything, Neuro's lips touched her forehead, his kiss feather-light and long as his eyes fluttered closed. She could feel him smiling just the slightest.

The soft and warm lips left her forehead sooner than she expected, and her face felt hot the moment she opened her eyes and saw his face.

Yako almost cried out of happiness—and she failed to know why.

"According to a book I've read recently, a kiss on the forehead between lovers means, 'I adore you'. It exceeds the level of love and non-verbally shows respect and gallantry to the other, it said."

Yako, all wide-eyed and blushing, was stunned at his words.

_Did he just—?_

And without premises, he kissed her on the collarbone—

"This means, 'I am comfortable with you'."

—and on the top of her breast—

"This means, 'I would like to be more intimate with you'. The same goes for this one—"

—and he kissed her on her neck and on her gulping throat—

"And this one means, 'I love you'," and he kissed her on her lips.

The blush on her face seemed to stay there for a lot longer, Neuro mused, and he couldn't help but smile at the sight of her looking teary-eyed and happy at the same time.

_Women. So full of mixed emotions._

With a light giggle, Yako put her hands softly on both sides of his head, and kissed him on his forehead, smiling contentedly still.

"I guess this means I adore you too?" she quipped, not bothered to see the people around them looking at them with slight smiles on their faces.

Neuro chuckled as he closed his eyes, his face touching her modest bosom. And with a soft kiss to the side of her breast, he smiled, his eyes filled with an emotion he couldn't quite decipher.

"I guess so."

And Yako held him tight with a contented smile of her own, just as the train started to move again.

* * *

><p>It was rare for Haruka to have some alone time with her daughter, seeing as her little girl had always been with Neuro.<p>

"Yako? Would you like some nettle soup for dinner?"

Yako, in turn, laughed as she chopped the potatoes on the chopping board, "No, thanks, Mother. I can live without nettle soup."

Haruka smiled as she returned to her cooking—or least what Haruka herself called cooking (black smoke was curdling from the pot of what she called 'donburi'), and Yako was sure that that was _not _anything near a real donburi—humming, she asked her daughter, "Are you and Neuro getting along well?"

"We have always been, Mother. There's not a day that we don't get along." _Or at least that's what I'd like to think. Does him teasing me in bed count as us not getting along? Wait... Let's not ask about that, self!_

"Good to hear it, then! There's nothing better than hearing my daughter getting along with her husband."

"Mother. Neuro and I are not married."

"_Yet. _You will be married to Neuro and you will have lots of grandchildren for your father and I to dote on."

Yako, who almost slipped her finger on the knife from laughing, looked at her mother's back, "We can't just magically give you a dozen of grandchildren! Imagine how many times I'd have to bear with my stomach looking like I've eaten the whole world twelve times!"

"But I'm sure you'll have beautiful daughters and sons! Just look at Neuro! He grew up to be a handsome man! You and him with his Casanova genes combined, you'll get lovely kids!"

"'_Casanova?_'" Yako gasped in comical disbelief, "He's not a Casanova, Mother! Heck, he may be a girl-magnet but he repels them just as easily!"

"And this is why I'm telling you now that you should have kids with him someday. To fend off those women seeking to be with him! Set a border around him as early as possible so that the other she-wolves will know who he belongs to!"

Yako didn't know if she should say that it was Neuro who had been setting borders around her, just to warn the other men in her school—_and what's with the she-wolf comment?_

"...I'm still in high school, Mother. At least let me finish my education—and why did our conversation lead to me having kids with Neuro!"

"But he's a handsome man!"

"So?"

"You need a handsome man to continue our lineage!"

"...what?"

It was then that Yako heard footsteps from the doorway, and Neuro came padding inside, his smile eternally placed on his face, "Ah, there you are Yako! Seiichi-_san_ wanted some iced coffee in his office, if you please. Sonobe-_san _is out doing the groceries, you see." He bounded inside, humming as he took a piece of dumpling nearby Yako she had made those all by herself earlier.

Yako nodded with a smile and went to make her father's request.

Haruka, who had seen the lively sparkle in the blond's eyes the moment he saw her daughter, smiled at Neuro, and, assuming that he didn't hear a thing about her and Yako's conversation earlier, she took a quick glance at her daughter's retreating back, and pursed her lips.

"Say, Neuro... What do you think about my daughter? Be honest with me," she cooed jokingly. A casual chat had always been a great way to start a hidden probing into one's own private opinions, or so she repeated to herself. "Is she being nice to you? How about when it comes to food? I know how much of a hoarder my little girl could be, but please try to understand her—she loves all sorts of food and—"

Neuro laughed as he washed his hands on the sink, rolling his tongue on his teeth as he dried his hands, "Haruka-_san_, there is no need to worry. I can handle Yako _very _well." A broad smile crept on his thin lips, his eyes hooded and his body relaxed, confident, even, as he regarded Haruka with his own lazy smile.

Maybe she didn't notice the slight change of tone he used when he said that he can handle Yako. A concealed undertone that was uttered, Neuro was confident that Yako's mother would never take a hint about the double entendre that seeped through his words.

"Oh," she said, her eyebrows raised and her lips curled in a small smile, "well, that's good! I asked Yako a few minutes ago, too. She said you and her are getting along." With a flippant wave of her hand and a distinctively relieved sigh, she laughed, "I mean, it's not everyday that you'll get to see young couples nowadays getting along so well. Usually, at the early stages, all they do is fight about every single thing—petty jealousy goes on top of the list, most of the time. I sure do hope you won't make my daughter cry. A robust and becoming young man such as you must have had a long string of girls looking at you wherever you walk, huh?" No, she didn't mean to pry, but she just _had _to ask it—it was a question that had been floating in her mind for quite some time. She had seen lots of becoming young men nowadays who flocked themselves on unsuspecting young women and would later leave them when they're tired with them. She knew very much that Neuro was not like that at all, but still...

Neuro chuckled and sheepishly scratched his cheek, smiling bashfully at the tiled floors, "I'm afraid I do have such experiences, but Yako is quick to make sure I'm only looking at her, you see. She is quite a possessive little thing." And he didn't bother to twist his words to his liking, as long as it will be in favor to him later on.

Haruka put down the wooden spatula—_a normal cooking utensil, for once_—and turned all her attention solely to the shy-looking young man standing near the fridge.

"Oh, Neuro, dear! I'm sure Yako means well for both of you. She could be quite sensitive about certain things, but I'm sure she could manage if she's with you."

Emerald eyes shifted to the left, and his smile turned just a tad wider as his eyelids drooped, half-closed, and a bit of his fanged teeth peeked just behind his thin lips.

_Sensitive things, eh, Kitten?_

* * *

><p>"—then Aomi-<em>san <em>went pale when he saw your room! I saw it! I bet he didn't know exactly what happened!"

"Hmph. That caretaker of mine could be as dense as a brick. Though, it was a good thing I hid all of your sheer things in the bottommost part of the drawer. You didn't bring them with you."

"That's because I was too—"

"You were too busy getting down from your post-orgasmic afterglow?"

"Not that, stupid! And don't phrase it that way!"

A kiss and a bite was delivered to the outer shell of her ear, and Yako giggled.

"That tickles," she mumbled as she panted for breath. Her lungs felt as though they were being constricted as Neuro heaved himself upon her scantily clad form. They were in Yako's room, and her parents were away, leaving only the two of them, plus Miwako (who was preparing dinner), in the house.

"Funny how you go from yelling to giggling in two seconds flat."

"Blame your teeth."

"Heh."

A kiss was delivered on her cheek, and she loved the attention.

"Neuro? Where have you been keeping those things you kept on buying for me?"

"You mean the toys?"

A small blush crept to her face, "Yeah. Those."

He chuckled, nuzzling her hair with his chin like a contented cat, "I kept them hidden in a secret place." His voice was filled with playfulness, each word getting lengthy as he spoke.

Yako pouted. _Figures. He'll never tell me._

"Why won't you tell me, then? Afraid I might use them when you're not around?" she replied just as playful as he did, and a smile bloomed on his face as his hands continued to create small circles on the back of her palms. His bare chest had been rubbing on the thin fabric of her Victorian shirt, humming whenever he would feel the smooth mounds of her pert bottom peeking from beneath the cloth.

"Heh. Why, have you thought of doing so? Oh my, the little minx is getting perverse! I wonder what I should do," and his smile reached his ears, his fanged teeth and mischievous eyes gleaming at her equally impish countenance.

Yako snorted, her eyes shifting to her left, indicating the _thing _that he had hidden at the bottom of her drawer so many months ago. It still laid there, perfectly untouched and unused since she first saw it. Neuro promised her it would be him that would penetrate her, not some silicon-thing, as he had said once.

Neuro saw her unspoken gesture, and took the hint, and his lips curled to a lopsided smile, his eyes twinkling in delight, "I should have known you had such an impulsive self hiding in there. Do you want to use the toy I left you—"

His words were cut off by the sound of his phone vibrating on Yako's nightstand. Eyebrows raising at her, he shrugged and reached over to his phone, its white backlight glaring at his vision as he sat on the edge of the bed.

It was a number he did not recognize. One that was not from his father or mother.

Neuro looked at Yako, and she hummed and blinked at him, her body now turned over her back, calmly regarding him with a questioning glance.

"Answer it," she shrugged, and Neuro glared at the phone, untrusting on the person at the other line.

It kept on vibrating incessantly in his hand.

"Hello?" he spat, his tone menacing, void of the false joy he had always used whenever he'd answer on his mobile.

_"Neuro-san?"_

"...Who is this?" His tone was cold, forced, and at the back of his mind, he (stupidly) wished it was a wrong number—

_"Neuro-san? It's me."_

"I surely don't know who this is, so no, I don't remember who this 'Me' is."

He had already pressed the loudspeaker on his phone, and Yako could hear every word he was hearing.

Neuro's shoulders squared and his jaw clenched as he listened in on the phone, laying it on the nightstand once more.

Yako reached out to him, her chest pressed closed to his back and her arms wrapped around his shoulders. Her form suddenly became rigid the moment she heard a woman's voice on the other line, and Neuro had an inkling as to why. He glanced at her, and was not surprised to see Yako glaring deadly daggers at his phone.

There was a tense silence on the other line, the static permeating in their thumping ears. Just as when Yako thought that the awkward conversation was finally over, she heard a sigh.

_"Neuro-san might not remember me, but I can assure you that you know me—"_

Yako's hands clenched and unclenched on the expanse of Neuro's bare shoulder blades, "Do you know her?" She didn't make an effort to lower her voice. Curiosity and slight hostility seeped from her tone, and the feeling of unease ate through Neuro's mind—a rare occurrence, to say the least.

_"Neuro-san? Is there someone with you?"_

"Neuro? Who is she?"

Neuro let out a heavy sigh. _What's with the twenty questions all of a sudden?_

The sight of him tapping his index finger to his frowning lips made Yako puzzled. Why the sudden silence?

* * *

><p>"Why did you just hang up on her? That's impolite," Yako chided at a passive Neuro as they walked to one of Ginza's best restaurants. He had been silent since the mysterious call last night, and the only way to get him to talk was if he had food in his system—the same method that he had always used on her.<p>

"She was being a nuisance, that's all," Neuro shrugged, his eyes cast in front of him, not looking at Yako. His hands were in his pockets, clenched—Yako could tell. He was still tense.

"At least try to tell me who she is so I can know what I'm up against."

Neuro laughed, a real one, and this time, he looked at her, clearly amused, "What you're up against? Why does this sound like you're becoming a possessive little thing?"

"She sounds like a threat to me."

"How unlike you, kitten. It's not like you at all. You're jealous of someone you have never even met?"

"You're always jealous with the guys I'm talking to, save for Godai-_san_ and Yukinori-_san_; we both know they're not a threat to my affection for you—so I thought, 'why can't I do the same?'"

"Touché."

They neared a high-end restaurant, and dressed in semi-formal attire. Part of his hair was tied back tonight, giving him a clear view of his strong jaw that was perfectly framed by his black locks—Yako thought it would be a nice change for him to have a different hairdo just for this night. He wore a button-down white shirt and pale green coat coupled with perfectly pressed black trousers and impeccable black dress shoes. She was in a simple, yet clingy, thigh-high, sleeveless and hot pink cocktail dress that exposed a bit of her modest cleavage—something that Neuro initially frowned upon—and donned a pair of white and sky high heels that made her six inches taller.

At least for tonight, Yako reached just below Neuro's shoulder—for once.

Her comment made Neuro think. She had a point—he gets jealous, she gets jealous, they both get jealous, they're both possessive (Neuro, most of the time, rarely for Yako)—and she implied that she was up for a challenge should that unknown girl be a threat to her.

_I've taught you well, Yako._

Neuro smiled.

He held her hand firmly as he kissed the top of her head as they walked, an act that caught Yako off-guard but nonetheless made her smile as well.

Entering the cozy establishment, they were provided with the most private table of the restaurant—Neuro's credit card made such a thing possible.

"Why here?" Yako asked, puzzled at being sat in such a closed place. The waiter who was with them stood within earshot, and Neuro, trying to be discreet, simply mouthed a quick "later".

They made their orders—ordering everything in the menu times eight—and the waiter departed the room, a bit shaken at the amount that they ordered. Neuro ignored it all.

Yako hummed as she heard the door closed, and it was then that she took in all of her surroundings. A warm and dim yellow glow illuminated the room, creating a mellow atmosphere. Glazed caramel walls lined with warm lamplights surrounded them. A plush maroon carpet lined the floors. The chairs were soft and plump. Each table was covered with a white cloth topped with a red one that matched the floors. The room itself was spacious. The air was breezy—not too warm and not too cold—and should she sniff the scent of the air deeper, she would smell the lingering scent of gardenias.

_Oh._

Yako had no idea he would choose such a romantic place to eat tonight.

_Why does this feel like our first date?_

"Neuro," she began, her hands cupping her chin as she smiled coyly at him, "I didn't know you know how to please a woman."

In response, he huffed and leaned back on his chair as he looked to his left, smiling lopsidedly in that coquette and charming manner of his. The glimmer in his eyes didn't escape Yako's observant gaze, though.

"I was trying to please my stomach," he replied to the air, his gaze not meeting her own.

Yako stifled a laugh and toyed with the stem of her wine glass, "Sure you did."

And there it was, that perfectly executed fanged smile that had Yako captivated since they were children. He laughed, and the crow's feet that graced his eyes made him look very much carefree—and she beamed.

Their conversation flitted from one topic to another, with various and discreet tortures from Neuro to Yako—he had been toying with a dial that he had attached to his phone, and Yako, for the most part, had been squirming in her seat.

"Had enough?" he coolly asked. Gone was the boyish smile on his lips; here was a man turned devil sitting in front of Yako, and she had no control over him—

—or the dial that he had been fiddling with for the past two hours since they left his house.

"Nngh..."

"Eh? What's that you said? You want more?"

"N-not in public—!"

He flicked the dial once more, to a higher vibe this time, and Yako gasped as she slumped to the table, her mouth getting dry as she weakly mumbled for him to lessen his torture on her, but Neuro merely shook his head with a chuckle.

"Yako," he cooed, his tone impish as he eyed her blushing form, "that little thing is only attached to your teeny cherry—nothing's getting inside of you now... Or did you get a toy earlier and shoved it in there without me noticing?"

"I didn't take—anything—!"

"Then why are you so red? Imagine what the waiter will think of you if he sees you like this. Questions will arise, kitten. Straighten yourself up—come on! Don't be shy now."

"I'm red because you just put a vibrator in me—"

"Correction. _You_ put a _mini _vibrator in you. It's not like I did all of the putting in. Besides, it's only on your cl—"

"You forced me to put it on—"

"At least you won't need a cream blush on your cheeks."

Yako was about to retort when the door creaked and in entered the waiter with their first course for the night.

Watching the waiter laying out the food on their table was making Yako forget the tingling sensation within her unmentionable parts. Neuro, on the other hand, was quite pleased at seeing her look so unaffected by the toy vibrating beneath her panties.

"A bottle of Pinot Noir, as you requested, Sir," and the waiter laid out a perfectly chilled bottle of wine in the middle of the table, making Yako's mouth fall agape.

The waiter bowed and went away, standing near the door, facing them, just in case they would need him.

"Neuro, how much did you pay for this?" she asked incredulously with her caramel eyes wide. She knew that Neuro was secretly rich, but...!

"Oh hush, this only happens once in a while. Why hold back? And besides, this is nothing compared to how much we spend on food daily, so eat up," and with that, he ate, urging Yako to do the same. She nodded and ate her fill, conversing with Neuro as she did so—trying so hard to ignore those sweet vibrations tickling her insides.

It wasn't until they were on their third course that Yako mustered the courage to ask Neuro a question that had been fuddling her mind.

"Neuro, who was she exactly?"

Neuro chewed on the potatoes and steak on his plate, and washed them down with a gulp of wine before speaking.

There was no need to hide it from her, right?

"Father told me of something a long time ago, back in the homeland."

Yako nodded, intently listening. She did not dare to ask where his "homeland" was, but she had a hint.

"He told me that he'd find a wife for me once I reach six—it was the family custom (don't know who started that shitty ritual). Apparently, I did not see that day, seeing as Zera and I were already here in Japan since I was four. My only guess is that that was the person on the phone last night. That wannabe-wife-thing."

"But how did she know your name? And on a first name basis too?" It somehow relieved Yako that he was not in the least interested in meeting her.

He shrugged as he took another bite of the steak, "Maybe they told them or something. Dunno. Not interested. As for how they got my number, I can only guess it's because of that green pus."

"Aomi-_san_?"

He nodded, "He's the only one who has access to the main house's telephone number—I didn't try to search for the damned number for fourteen years, yet here was my caretaker, lying to my face everytime I ask him who told them my house's number. I bet it was him who had recently taken my pictures without permission."

Neuro was calm as he spoke, but Yako could sense the underlying anger in his voice.

It was a side of Neuro that she had seen only once in a blue moon.

She reached out her hand to him silently, soothing his fingers with the pad of her thumb.

The engagement ring on Yako's finger twinkled at Neuro's eyes, and he smiled, holding her dainty hand to his own as he kissed it.

"You will be my wife, and no one else."

Those were the words that Yako needed to hear—to assure her that he will not go astray.

* * *

><p>Two pairs of clumsy feet stumbled into Neuro's room, and in came Yako and Neuro fumbling away with the barriers of their own clothes as he turned on the light and simultaneously locked the door. Giggling and feeling bolder than usual, she ripped off his clothes with one quick tug, uncaring for the buttons that popped and flew from their threads, making Neuro grin widely.<p>

"I didn't know you have a succubus in you."

She returned his grin with a sly smirk of her own, "You turned me into this."

"Oh? Well then, I suppose I should be glad that I raised a perfect little slave and succubus rolled into one?"

The harsh tugging of his belt was heard as it fell noisily to the carpet.

And Yako knelt on the floor, dragging his pants down with her.

Neuro's blood ran cold.

"What are you doing?"

"Feed me," was what she simply whispered. Two words that sent Neuro spiraling to oblivion.

Without waiting for an answer, Yako palmed the length of his crotch, trailing wet kisses on his clothed privates as she went on.

Neuro gulped, completely taken aback at how brazen Yako had become.

_This is why I despise alcohol. It clouds your inhibitions to the fullest._

Yet he did nothing to stop her actions, letting her take control for the time being, even as she licked it through the cloth that was now hurting him.

She looked up at him, silently daring him to take a step further.

He groaned, and he grabbed onto her hair, making her wince. He threw her on his bed—as sadistic as ever, Yako mused with a grin.

Hovering on one excited Yako, he took off his shirt quickly and devoured her mouth.

"Are you trying to make me lose my control?" he hissed in between fervent kisses, gasping as he felt her fingers raking on his back.

"I aim to."

He smirked.

"Well, you're going to need to do more than that."

And Yako's eyes glimmered. She pulled him flush to her still clothed and heaving chest until her lips were kissing his ear. She inhaled his scent and smiled.

_"Yes, Master."_

Those were the words that made Neuro crumble.

A deep laugh resonated through Yako's muddy hearing, and in the denseness of her incoherent thoughts—_we had four bottles tonight...!_—she could clearly hear the words that had overtaken her senses.

_"Yako, you don't know what you're wishing for."_

It was the last thing she heard before he cruelly ripped her clothes off of her.

Yako gasped.

"Let's take these off too, shall we?" and he slowly removed her hairclips and placed them on the nightstand, smiling widely still.

All the while, the phone resting in Neuro's pants vibrated and glared its blinding white backlight within its fabric confines from the floor.

Kissing her on the forehead, he caressed her face, paying special attention to her lips as he eyed her with what Yako assumed as admiration.

He kissed her cheek, then to her slowly reddening ear, and he whispered, "How about let's start by me seeing you remove that toy in you?"

"You mean you're going to—"

"Nope. I'm not going to look at it. You're not removing that lacy panty."

"But how—"

"Feel it."

She sighed.

_At least we're not rushing into things. And he's still sober._

She did just as so, and she did it with closed eyes—no, she could not bear seeing that too-happy face of his right now. _Her _own self-control might crumble.

_Don't just sit on me, idiot._

She could practically see his ear-splitting grin through her closed eyes as the little thing came off of her wet insides.

She took it out of her soaked underwear blindly—

"See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he cooed, that grin never leaving his face as he spoke. Oh, how he loved being in control.

Yako took a peek at his quite pleased expression, and she pouted as she showed the toy to him.

"Quite drenched, as I expected," he observed lazily as he held it in between his spidery fingers. He hummed and placed it on the nightstand, beside the hairclips, and returned his attention on Yako and her beet red face.

"Embarrassed, are we?"

She shook her head, and in return, he pecked her lips, inhaling her strawberry-scented locks.

_"My little slave..."_

It occurred to Yako that he was talking to himself, judging from the almost serene look on his face, and she felt soothed, and in response, she lightly nipped on his collarbone, humming.

He was gentle tonight, a rare occurrence for Yako, not that she complained, but still, it was refreshing to see that he was not all pure sadist—

"Let me spank you hard tonight. You've been testing my limits and my self-control lately."

—spoke too soon.

* * *

><p>Wobbling her way to the restroom, Yako winced as she sat on the toilet bowl. <em>He was too rough!<em>

Sighing as she finished her "peeing business", she supported herself in vain on the walls and on the sink as she stood and made her way back to Neuro's bedroom.

Blindly walking and nearly stumbling on their heap of clothes on the floor, she plopped heavily on the bed, facing Neuro's sleeping face that was illuminated by the moonlight peeking from the window.

"Please tell me you did not just touch yourself in there. That was just too quick."

"Neuro. I just peed. And please, like I'll stoop that low just because you spanked me. And weren't you sleeping?"

"I was," he replied, still with his eyes closed, "but I felt you leave the bed, so I awoke."

"Quite the light sleeper," she joked, and she kissed him on the nose as she wound her arm around him, burying her face in his clothed torso as she did so.

He took in her scent as he wrapped a long and possessive arm around her, sighing as he listened to her breathing.

"I just noticed we've been ripping each other's clothes lately."

She giggled and bit her lip as she mumbled her reply to his chest, "I blame you for it, you're too impatient."

"Heh. Wait until you see me on our wedding night. I'll show you impatient."

He felt her raking her nails on his back, and he quivered in pleasure.

"Looking forward to it."

He hummed and smoothed out her hair, "Your hair is cold."

Rubbing her face on him as she clutched onto his (newly-ripped) shirt, she smiled, "I took a shower earlier, remember? It's your fault."

"It wasn't my fault if you came six times tonight."

"You counted it?" and she glared at him through the dimly lit room, pouting at the barely there smile that painted his lips.

"Of course. But, if you're talking about the total number of times that you came because of me, _that_, I can't count."

"I still can't believe you're counting them."

He laughed, "I love counting them."

"That sounds creepy coming from you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

She sighed, smiling contentedly as she breathed, and it didn't escape Yako's hearing that there was something—a buzzing sound—coming from her right.

"Neuro? Did you hear that?"

"I'm trying hard to ignore it, but yes, I do hear it."

"Why are you ignoring it?" she asked as she suddenly sat up and fumbled for the lamp's light switch.

Blinking away the light suddenly blinding her eyes, she went over to where the sound was, and fumbled through the pockets of Neuro's pants. The owner of said pants, on the other hand, could care less about what she was fussing about.

_It's not like I'm hiding anything from her, anyway._

"Hello?" he heard her ask. He remained unmoving from where he lay, his breathing calm and even.

He knew who was calling, and no, he did not care if Yako knew.

_She knows I don't look at others. __  
><em>  
>"Um, may I ask why are you calling at," Yako paused, and Neuro assumed she looked at the clock, "three in the morning? What is this, some kind of a sick prank?"<p>

And there it was, the side of Yako that Neuro had always evaded, the side that he had once called her "monthly cycle" side.

Her voice was escalating and her speech was becoming much faster than he was used to hearing.

Oh dear.

"Whaddya mean you don't know what time it is? What... Oh, so you're in Germany. Have you ever considered that who you're calling might be in, I don't know, a totally _different time zone altogether_? ...Who am I? _Who_ am I? _You're _calling this number and you don't even know who's speaking... No. I don't care if you're calling Neuro. You're asking me who I am? I'll tell you who I am."

Neuro heaved a sigh, she knew who she was, and she was quite proud of it. A part of him wanted to know if the person on the other line was backing away from the fierceness in her voice.

_"I'm Katsuragi Yako—Nougami Neuro's fiancée! Remember that in your feeble memory, you frisky vixen!" __  
><em>  
>And she hung up.<p>

"Really, the nerve of that woman! Can you believe it? She's trying to get to you and tell you she's going to be your bride or some half-baked excuse like that! Like hell I'll back out after that!"

He turned over to his back and faced her seething form, him looking quite amused at her angry red-colored countenance, "Calm down, Yako. It's not like she's making a claim—"

"The hell she is! Hah! The moment she said that bride and groom crap, I almost blacked out," and she paced the room restlessly, biting the nail of her thumb as she did so, unmindful of the state of nakedness she was showing to Neuro's lust-filled eyes. "What Kanae-_chan _and Mother said was right. I need to make a barrier around my territory."

"And since when did _you _become the territorial being in this relationship, hm? If I recall correctly, it was always I who was in charge of the territorial claiming business," he was eyeing her to his heart's content, enjoying the view of her pert little bottom swaying to her each step.

"Well, maybe I needed to be territorial for once because of that vile thing."

"You're starting to talk just like me."

"I wouldn't be this way if it weren't for that bitchy little thing."

"Quite irate, are we? Now you know how I feel whenever you're around with those mangy creatures you call 'men'."

"...I don't have a single, witty line about that. And aren't you a man yourself?"

"Well then, good. The less witty lines, the better. All the more reason for us to sleep just to replenish our brain cells. It will do us both good if we sleep now. And to answer your question, I'm not just a man—I'm a supreme version of a man."

"Psh, yeah right. A supremely extreme version of a sadistic man—"

"And you like him very much. Him and his sadistic ways."

At this, she paused in her little tirade, and his words caused her to smile bashfully. "Yes, I like him very much—I don't know about the sadistic part," and Yako laughed as she returned to the bed and laid down with him, not before putting his cell phone inside his drawer.

"What's that for?" Neuro asked as he raised his brow at her.

"Just in case some sad excuse for a broad would try and call you again," and she giggled as she turned off the lights.

Neuro merely laughed.

"You've become quite possessive of me. _I like that._"

* * *

><p>A headband was placed gingerly on Yako's head, its simple black color contrasting with the hue of her yellow-orange hair and her smiling hairclips sitting at the sides of her head.<p>

"There, now it's done," Mutsuki chirped as she clapped her hands and admired her work. "Isn't she pretty, Kana-_nee_?"

"Yup, pretty much so. I'm guessing Nougami-_san _has something to do with you looking all glowing and refreshed all the time," Kanae teased to a suddenly blushing Yako.

"Why does he always pop up in our conversations?"

"Because Neuro-_nii_ is always connected to _nee-chan_, thus he always end up in our conversations."

Kanae laughed, "That's a good one, Mucchan!" And she turned to Yako, eyebrows rising and brown eyes gleaming at Yako's beet red face, "How is he nowadays? Any... steps of progress between the two of you?"

"Kanae-_chan_, for the last time, we are not going to do it until we're married."

"Oh, well isn't _that _rare," she mused out loud, blinking at Yako, "usually when one is in love, they'll do anything to get in their pants―or skirts."

"Well, there are couples out there who are like that, but Neuro and I are not like that. I mean, sure we play around and all, but we make sure our limits remain our limits. No more, no less," her tone was stern, her expression serious as she spoke, and Kanae realized that Neuro must be a man made out of God-given self-control, if such a thing were possible.

"But Nougami-_san _told me you and he took a bath and―"

"Nothing serious happened in there, trust me."

"Not even a bit of cunni―"

"Gosh, no! Neuro wouldn't even touch me directly there! Heck, even I haven't seen all of him."

Kanae sat on Yako's bed, dumbfoundedly blinking at her best friend with her mouth agape. Mutsuki simply drank the tea offered to her by Yako―darjeeling―opting not to comment on the things she just heard.

"Yako... are you serious?"

A sigh escaped Yako's lips as she rubbed her temples, "Yes, Kanae-_chan_, I'm serious."

"You're telling me that in the span of six years that you and him slept together on the same bed, seen each other's body for more than a year, frolicked around in the shower _thrice_―or was it four?―spent more time together than you did with your mother and loved each other very dearly (from what I could see), didn't even have the urge to have as primal as having sex?"

A sheepish Yako laughed awkwardly, "Well, the urge had always been there, that I can tell you, but Neuro has this immense amount of self-control that he never once gave into ever since puberty kicked in. I—must be a very lucky girl to have him as my future husband, huh?"

"_Very _lucky indeed," Kanae quipped, smiling as she crossed her arms. "I never thought there were still men like him. Temptation had been swinging around him since he was eleven and not once did he touch you in a way that would offend and endanger your chastity from what I could tell. Yako, I think you got yourself a keeper. Don't let him get away from you, I tell ya. He's a sheep in a pack of wolves."

"Oh, he's very much far from a sheep," Yako laughed, and Kanae, understanding that her friend was thinking of something inappropriate, decided to egg her on on telling her about the details.

As Yako was about to deny any disclosure about her rather private moments with Neuro, Haruka came knocking on the door telling her daughter that Neuro got home safely, and Yako thanked her mother.

Kanae, who had seen what had just happen, questioned Yako further for an elaborate explanation.

"Neuro always calls the house as soon as he gets home," she stated matter-of-factly.

"But why? I mean, he always stays here, so why stay over at his own house? He rarely goes home."

"Kanae-_chan_, Neuro still needs to go home and check on things if Aomi-_san_ is doing his job maintaining his large collection of books and such. And besides, it's Neuro's own house―you know what, I need food. Mutsuki-_tan_, do you need more cookies?" and without waiting for Mutsuki to reply, Yako stood up and excused herself, making Kanae wonder.

Mutsuki merely smiled as she finished her cup of tea. Kanae mused out loud.

"Is she hiding something? Was it something I said?"

"_Nee-chan_ knows she's speaking too much about Neuro-_nii_. She knows that not everyone knows about Neuro-_nii_ and his private life with her, and she knows that Kana-_nee _has the tendency to blab about things."

Kanae was floored.

It was either Mutsuki had a secretly sharp tongue or she had a very keen sense of observation.

Kanae stayed silent about the matter.

* * *

><p>Neuro glared at his phone for the umpteenth time.<p>

He had been receiving incessant calls from the number that he had inadvertently and begrudgingly memorized over the past month, and he was getting close to throwing his phone to the wall.

Only if his phone hadn't been bought with Yako's money.

He sighed and slumped on his bed, tired green eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He had called the Katsuragi residence earlier stating that he had just arrived home; then, a few minutes after, the round of calls from the girl from Germany―from what he heard from Yako―pestered him to no end. Strictly ordering Zera to stop sending pictures of him and Yako to his parents, Neuro made it a task to melt all of his caretaker's make-up to a sloppy goop of mess and burn all the fashion magazines he had seen in the house (seeing as they all look important to the transvestite), making Zera realize that his charge was in the mood to snap his head if the transvestite were to disobey his orders.

Zera then without hesitation, burned and deleted all contact numbers and messages and addresses that he had with the Nougami couple, ensuring that Neuro himself could see everything that the caretaker did.

But the damage was already done.

His parents knew his address, his phone number, his school, and everything that should be kept hidden from them—_including Yako._

He growled.

Neuro was pissed. He couldn't see Yako for a week (no thanks to her monthly period), he was stuck in his house with only a sorry excuse for a caretaker to amuse his sadistic whims, his parents want him to go back and return to his homeland (thus letting Yako off of her leash should he do so), and he was being pestered by a woman who claims that she was to be Neuro's bride.

_I want to smash something right now._

Glaring holes at his ceiling, he decided that the only thing he could do now was to read. Reading had always kept his mind off unnecessary things.

Walking over to the towering shelves in front of his bed, he took a random book and read it on his bed, not before hearing the familiar sound of a cat meowing from his phone.

Smiling, he answered the phone and sighed almost contentedly upon hearing the all-too-welcomed voice of Yako munching her life away on eating potato chips―again.

Neuro commented on Yako stuffing her stomach with fatty foods, thus earning him an earful of insults from Yako, not that she seriously meant those, and not that he seriously took those insults of hers, but it was a part of their daily banter, the little word games and mind games that they play, it was his way of telling her that he missed her―not that he was going to admit that.

They talked for a good three hours about anything of everything, with Yako having to struggle speaking with her mouth full of junk food and Neuro having to laugh it off with a light-hearted insult.

His sour mood turned away after that, not that he told her about his grumpiness. He wouldn't hear the end of it.

After bidding her a few more insults along with a silent good night, he turned on his laptop and tweaked things on his screen, and after a few minutes, the monitor showed directly a bird's eye view of Yako's room. He had installed a mini hidden camera right on the little bookshelf on her study table, which was perfectly camouflaged inside an intricately-designed candle holder―he had done it all with the permission of Yako, of course. The reason was to keep a close check of the situation in her room―_you'll never know if something like 'that' incident would happen again._

The camera gave him a clear view of her room from the window's view, and Neuro, being the eagle eye that he was to Yako, had decided to install another camera, this time, it was put in a little crevice on top of her cabinet of clothes, which gave him a perfect view of her room from the bedroom door's view―in this way, he could keep watch on who might enter or trespass her room while she was sleeping.

Even so, he only used it on times when he knew he couldn't reach her.

For a whole week, he would wake up on five o'clock and would turn off his laptop on a specific time―every morning at five-thirty―to give Yako her privacy once she woke up. Only then would he be at ease and would start his day.

And Yako knew all of this, and she was fine with it―seeing as for a whole week that he stayed in his house, she would always wave and smile at the camera on her cabinet as soon as she woke up, and would give it an 'okay' sign, non-verbally telling Neuro that she was all right.

He had been doing that practice for six years, since he was twelve, and not once did he sense that Yako complained.

All in all, he was doing it for her safety.

He had never once gotten over her kidnapping, after all.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until their second term of their third year of senior high, on a cold September morning, that a person forced their way into Neuro and Yako's lives.<p>

That person, as Yako had quietly observed from the safety of the large glass window of their homeroom, was beautiful in appearance, an elegant beauty that shone in the sun.

Clad in a knee-length summer dress of violet in color, and donning a pair of silver-hued, six-inch heels with a little purse in her dainty-looking hand, the mysterious woman walked down the school grounds in utmost grace, leaving a trail of students, both males and females, openly gawking behind her.

She had wavy blonde hair that reached past her waist, which was neatly done in a simple updo; from Yako's viewpoint, she was not exactly pure Japanese, seeing as her nose was quite pointed and Latin-looking. She couldn't make out the rest of her features, as she was too far from the woman.

Yako silently observed the mysterious beauty, quite aware that Neuro was now standing behind her.

"What are you looking at, piggy?" he asked, looking at her through the vague reflection of her on the window. He then coiled his arms around her and tucked his chin on her petite head as he sighed and smiled.

"Nothing much," Yako mumbled, her eyes still fixated on the blonde woman that was now talking to a teacher―_probably asking for directions._She thought nothing on the woman later on as she felt Neuro grinding his chin on her scalp.

He was silently begging for her attention again.

She sighed, and turned around, taking a quick glance behind Neuro. "People are staring, dummy," she whispered. And Neuro only grinned.

"Psh. Let them stare, then. I need my daily dose of my slave lavishing her undivided attention on me."

"Such a puppy you are, Neuro," she quipped, and even so, she buried her face on his uniform-clad chest, deeply inhaling his scent.

And he pinched her butt, eliciting a squeak from her. Neuro laughed, and unbeknownst to Yako, he took a quick look at the school grounds, to where his little slave had taken interest in looking at―

Neuro frowned.

_A woman? __  
><em>  
>He looked at Yako, who still had her face buried in his shirt, rubbing her smooth skin on the fabric.<p>

He patted her head and whispered to her a silent promise.

_"Let's play again tonight, shall we?"_

And knowing that Yako would nod and acquiesce, and she did, Neuro heaved a sigh of relief and pulled her closer.

A loud thud echoed from the doorway, and Godai Shinobu came grunting his way towards a calm-looking Neuro who had his back turned to him.

Shinobu huffed.

"Monster. Someone's askin' for ya."

At this, Neuro and Yako looked at the grouchy man and asked in unison.

"Who?"

* * *

><p>Kanae and Mutsuki looked at the perfect-looking woman standing in front of their homeroom, fidgeting nervously on the balls of her sky-high-clad heels. They were standing near the doorway, eyeing the blonde with curiosity.<p>

The lady had been fiddling with her lilac-hued purse for some time now, and it dawned on the silent Mutsuki that this woman was impatiently waiting for someone―

―and that someone, as the onlooking students observed, was Nougami Neuro.

Looking as poker-faced as ever—whenever he greeted people who had never grasped his interest in the slightest—he merely raised an eyebrow at the blonde as soon as he exited the classroom.

Quirking her thin, nude glossed lips, she smiled nervously at the stoic man. And in her womanly-sounding voice, she spoke.

"Neuro-_san_, I assume? It's me," and she held out her hand for him to shake―

"I'm Aizawa Aya. Nice to meet you."

* * *

><p>Aya enters the scene~ *le gasp* And I've posted two chapters within a month~! Yay~! :D Now review. D:<p> 


	18. Sirena

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen: Sirena <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Ai makes a cameo in this chapter. Just saying. And seeing as the Neuro Wiki never stated what her surname was, I'll just take the liberty to put 'Imina' in her name, since that was what she's known as in the manga. I hope this will clear some things up. :3

* * *

><p>Class was about to start, and Yako couldn't help but feel queasy about everything. Kanae entered the room, her face quite dark and passive as she sat on the chair next to Yako.<p>

"Mucchan is looking over them," she stated simply, eyeing her best friend with a calculating gaze. She knew that Yako was tense, as she kept on fiddling with her prickly, yellow, triangle-beaded bracelet. Her back was too stiff, and a lump bobbing on Yako's throat kept on moving in Kanae's field of vision.

"It's not fair, Yako," Kanae said, her tone sounding a bit shakier than she intended. "Nougami-_san _always kept a close eye on you at all times, making sure no man will ever make a move on you and yet—this siren suddenly came strutting along like she owns him...!"

Yako remained silent despite Kanae's rants, biting her bottom lip as her palms started to sweat. She blocked out Kanae's words—a white noise filled her muddied brain. Yako assured herself that there was nothing to worry about—this was _Neuro_, for crying out loud! This was the man who had never spared any woman, aside from Yako, a fleeting glance for even a split second. This was the man who had always assured her at night that it was only Yako and Yako alone who would be his "slave", his "woman" and his wife.

Even so, she couldn't stop her own body as she stood up from her seat, her own feet heavily dragging her to the sliding doors.

Each pair of eyes in her homeroom looked at her, and Yako couldn't care less.

From the inside, she could see Neuro's silhouette through the frosted window of the sliding door, tall and imposing and unmoving—

—and on his left was another silhouette, a vague one, a silhouette that almost reached Neuro's shoulders, and Yako's mind drowned itself in questions.

She took a deep breath as she tried to appear calm and composed and unaffected by it all, but who was she trying to fool?

Kanae and all of her classmates could see the restlessness on Yako's carefully-crafted façade as the Neuron's Kitten slid open and shut the door behind her too stiff back.

The class sat in silence as she disappeared behind the door, and they were filled with dread.

_A catfight's about to happen...!_

* * *

><p>From out in the hallway, the first thing that Yako saw was Neuro, with his back turned to her, and standing in front of her was the elegant beauty she saw just a few minutes prior.<p>

She felt her blood run cold.

_Was she the one...?_

"Ah, Yako, good timing! I was about to call you," and Neuro turned around. He knew it was her who exited the classroom—how? And with no premise, he dragged Yako in front of him, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and waist, and rested his chin upon her head as he smiled at the beautiful blonde. And in his happiest voice, he chirped a cheerful, "This is my fiancée and my soon-to-be wife and partner, Katsuragi Yako! Innit she cute? Once we finish college, I'm going to ask her hand for marriage in front of her parents! Right, Yako?" And he looked down on her with his widest and most innocent smile she had ever seen—

—and Yako was at a loss of words.

_Why didn't I know any of this!_

She felt his hand curling a bit tightly around her waist, and she could see his eyes turning a bit narrower than they did a few seconds ago, as though he wanted her to agree with what he just said.

Yako gulped and faced the slightly surprised blonde, "Y-yeah," and at the back of her mind, she felt giddy from his words of promise of the future, and she regained her composure. "We're going to get married," she said for further emphasis and assurance more to herself than to Aya, and she said it rather proudly too, as Neuro silently observed with a wide smile.

"O-oh, I see," the blonde muttered with a strained smile, trying to ignore the news that had been so cruelly and frankly dropped on her perfectly-crafted composure. "I'm Aizawa Aya, by the way," and she held out her hand to her, occurring to Aya that earlier, Neuro did not shake her hand. "Um, the... one who always called...?" she added as an afterthought.

And just like that, the smile disappeared from Yako's face.

She hadn't even reached out her hand to return the greeting.

"Oh. _You._"

Yako's suspicions were confirmed.

Standing in front of her was the harlot parading herself shamelessly on Neuro.

Neuro, sensing the hostility crawling out of Yako's voice, decided to pull her even closer to his torso as he smiled widely at Aya.

Yako sensed him trying to calm her down with a few strokes of his hand on her upper arm.

"Chit-chat will have to wait, you see. Yako and I still have classes. Education first before anything else!" and with that, he glanced at Mutsuki, who had been watching the exchange from a couple of meters away from Neuro. Understanding what he meant, the little 17-year-old, looking a bit smug from Neuro's point of view, nodded and made her way to their homeroom, not before sparing Aya a cold glance over her shoulder, and she silently slid the door shut behind her, followed closely by Neuro who still had Yako in his firm hold.

Without a word of telling Aya to meet him up later, Neuro slid the door shut and slammed it—almost—at Aya's statuesque and appalled visage.

The moment the couple entered the classroom—save for Kanae, Mutsuki and Shinobu—their classmates suddenly erupted in an uproar, bombarding Neuro and Yako with questions that Neuro deemed as senseless; and he silenced them all with a glare.

* * *

><p>Word had it that there was trouble brewing in Neuro and Yako's paradise, and Shinobu, along with Neuro's three bodyguards from the junior level (they still serve them during their school days and such), had to shut them all up by wrecking havoc in each classroom during break. Mutsuki merely walked the hallways in silence, her aura cold and unreadable. The rumors stopped spreading after that.<p>

It was their lunch break, and Neuro and Yako were eating in the infirmary—to spare them the wickedness of false rumors, as Neuro had said.

"I want that tempura," he said in between bites of his own meal, pointing at the said tempura with his chopsticks, and Yako eyed him with annoyance as she hid her lunch box away from his prying eyes.

"You already took five of my sushi, I'm not going to give you any mor—ah! Give it back!"

"Make me," he huffed proudly as he ate and swallowed it in one bite. Yako jutted her lower lip and her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're going to pay for that," she grumbled, and with a light jab of her chopsticks to his nose, she quickly took a piece of squid from his lunch and ate it—rather noisily.

Neuro grinned and retaliated by gulping down her green tea—which was inside a little thermos—in seconds. Yako whined and kicked his shins, causing Neuro to painfully pinch her cheek with his free hand.

The nurse sat across from them, watching the couple bicker like a husband and wife. She was amused by all of this, judging from the little smile that graced her constantly poker-faced countenance.

Pinned on her white scrubs was her nameplate. It read 'Imina Ai'.

She had known Neuro and Yako since their freshman year in senior high, and was quite aware of this duo's popularity in school. Seeing the girl, Yako she assumed her name was—judging from the tall blond's way of calling her—Ai reminded Yako of someone she knew very well. One could say that she developed a soft spot for this student whom she barely knew.

Stifling a smile, she toyed with the ends of her burgundy hair, which was tied in the usual two-ponytail style, and watched the students in front of them quarrel. She had let them eat in the infirmary for once, because Yako looked like she was going to faint any moment. Neuro told her it was because of the lack of food in her system.

Ai took that as a valid excuse.

"I see you two get along really well," she commented, her back perfectly straight on the back of her swivel chair and her hands on her lap as she spoke. Neuro and Yako stopped pinching each other's faces with their chopsticks and looked at the barely smiling nurse.

So this nurse speaks, Neuro thought dryly.

It was Yako who first regained her sense of shame as she hurriedly sat up straight on the stretcher, trying hard to ignore the bits of rice and dried seaweed sprinkling her face.

"It's a daily thing, you see," Yako said shyly as she scratched her head, smiling awkwardly at the nurse. The nurse nodded and her lips curled upwards as Neuro put a piece of ikura on Yako's hair.

The result was immediate.

Yako hurriedly took the salmon caviar from her head and chewed on it, grumbling something about wasting food as she glared at Neuro.

He laughed.

A sudden rapping on the door silenced Neuro, and he quickly slid the divider shut, not before gesturing to Ai to keep silent as well. Ai blinked, but nodded nonetheless.

The door opened, and the voice of Mutsuki was heard, asking the nurse if she had seen her friends, and without a second thought, Yako's hand slipped out from behind the thin divider, beckoning Mutsuki.

Mutsuki nodded to the nurse and bowed slightly, shutting the door behind her as she quietly moved over to where Neuro and Yako hid.

"The coast is clear," Mutsuki piped as soon as she popped her head in between the thin dividers, her expression cheerful. And Yako heaved a sigh of relief as she cleaned up her face with a baby wipe.

Neuro sat beside Yako, smiling blankly at her.

"I assume you all did your jobs?" he asked, his blank smile still in place as he talked to Mutsuki. She nodded, and she could see Yako putting away all of her eleven lunch boxes and her empty thermos rather sadly.

Yako couldn't stop Neuro from his plans on "containing the rumor-mongers", and had to resort to using his trusty pawns to get the deed done.

"Kana-_nee_ wanted me to give _nee-chan_ this, as a thank you for what _nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_ did for her and Yukkichi," and Mutsuki took out a small bag of sweet breads filled to the brim. And just before Yako could praise Kanae and her utter generosity—_she's a god!_—Neuro immediately snatched a chocolate-drenched bread from the pile, earning a wail of protest from Yako.

"Eh? But we didn't do anything," Neuro blinked as he let Yako try to pounce on his chest, which ended quite badly, as she let out an ugly 'oomph' and landed on his crotch instead. He had been flicking Yako's nose and stopping her with a palm pressed to her forehead simultaneously, which resulted in an ugly sight and a lot of incoherent babble from her.

"Kana-_nee_ told me to tell _nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_ that because of them, Kana-_nee_ and Yukkichi got together. They're now, um, going 'at a moderate pace' as Kana-_nee _said. Dunno what that means, though," Mutsuki said, her wide eyes blinking innocently at Yako. Neuro was not convinced with the innocent act, though.

Yako, who gave in and laid down on Neuro's lap instead (as she was being squished by his arms, pinning her down tightly), hummed as she took out a bread filled with strawberry jam, and bit on it, reveling in the sweetness that flooded her mouth. Mutsuki smiled.

"Where's Kanae, by the way? She could've just gone here and give these herself," she said, chewing and talking at the same time. Yako's way of saying Kanae's name without the honorific made Mutsuki tilt her head in slight interest.

"Kana-_nee _is talking with the tall lady person," she simply stated, her smile now turned to a thin line and the sparkle in her eyes seemed to dim at the mention of this 'lady person'.

"Which lady?" Yako asked. Even so, she had a pretty good guess on who that mystery person was.

"That lady who talked with Neuro-_nii _earlier."

Neuro and Yako looked at each other.

* * *

><p>Kanae's stance was strong, fearless and dominant, as she faced Aya with her perfectly-practiced angry look. She had her arms crossed and her head held high. One finely-trimmed eyebrow was perfectly arched as she openly glared at the blonde.<p>

"Hello, Aizawa-_san_," she greeted curtly, with no offer of openness or submission. She had led Aya to the gym, where she knew that no one would see them talking in private. Sports practice wouldn't be until next week.

"Um, hello, Kagohane-_san_?"

"It's _Kagohara_. Kagohara Kanae. 'Basket' for '_kago_' and 'field' for '_hara_'. 'To grant' for '_kana_' and 'painting' for '_e_'. Kagohara Kanae. Get it right."

Aya flinched. "Um, yes. All right... Kagohara-_san_. I'm—"

With a huff, Kanae cut her off with a twitch of her nose. "Aizawa Aya. 'Councilor' for '_ai_' and 'marsh' for '_sawa_'. And 'design' for '_Aya_'. Am I correct?"

"Um, right. How did you—"

"Rumors travel fast, Aizawa-_san_. And you being here is like the wind carrying a message." _Actually, Mucchan told me the details earlier. I didn't know how she got the spelling right, either._

"How so?"

"Well, for starters, you're a foreigner, although you clearly have Japanese blood. You stand out in the crowd because you're not a student here. Second, seeing you strutting your way to the most popular guy in our school surely turns heads from the students. Third, who in the world are you? A relative of Nougami-_san_, I assume?"

At this, Aya squared her shoulders, and tried to look as confident as possible, "I'm his fiancée," and the wide-eyed and suddenly pale face that Kanae presented her suddenly made Aya rethink her words, "well, _supposed _fiancée... not really a real one and... that girl is with him and…" She babbled incoherently, her gestures and her voice becoming shaky, and all the while, Kanae's teeth gnashed.

"_You_? Nougami-_san_'s? Don't make me laugh! Yako has been engaged to Nougami-_san _for a year; he had told her many times that it will be her who will be his wife. You're delusional, woman."

"But his parents never approved," Aya said rather snidely, and Kanae tried to control her rising temper.

"He abandoned his parents because they neglected him in his early years! A child of three shouldn't be left alone in a mansion with only his caretaker as his sole company! It was why he never contacted them for fourteen years!"

"...and that is why we should be together. Neuro-_san _and I. Because we were alone."

Kanae clenched her fists. Here was a woman who was openly trying to smear her paws on her best friend's fiancée—

"You don't have the right to call him by his name. _I _couldn't even call him by his name; heck, he couldn't even say my name even though I know he remembers the names of everyone he meets!"

Aya stood still, appearing calm and collected as she listened to Kanae's words with the slightest tilt of a hidden smile, "He refuses to say your name? Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Kanae took a step back as Aya inched closer, "H-how dare you call him—"

"Isn't it cruel that you, who had been that girl's friend for so long, or so I'm told, had never been once called by Neuro-_san _by your name? I wonder why is that? Is it because he doesn't like you? Or is it because he sees no one but her?"

"Don't—" _Don't turn the tables on me!_

Aya kept on stepping closer, and Kanae kept on inching away.

"Or _maybe _is it because he knows that," she paused, looked to her left and right, as though hidden spectators would listen to them talk, then back at Kanae, and poised her dainty hand over her mouth dyed with pink lipstick, and gasped mockingly as she showed her a toothy grin, "you have feelings for him?"

At this, Kanae froze. "How...?"

With a light chuckle and a flip of her blond hair, Aya smiled at her in her coyest manner, an eyebrow rose upon seeing Kanae's sweat-drenched forehead.

"Rumors travel fast, Kagohara-_san_. And you standing here in front of me is like the wind carrying a message."

* * *

><p>Yukinori sat on one of the chairs in the library, and chewed on a piece of gum as he read today's notes on his English class. He was now in senior year, and he wanted to prove to his brother that he deserves to be called a Hayasaka.<p>

As he turned a page, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Mutsuki, who promptly entered the library as soon as she saw him.

"Yo," he greeted, his head still bowed low as he looked at his notes, which were suddenly forgotten the moment he looked at Mutsuki's grim façade.

"Kana-_nee _is talking with her," she said curtly as she sat stiffly on the chair in front of him.

"Her? Who is this 'her'?"

Mutsuki merely let a small smile grace her lips, and she fluttered her eyes closed as she crossed her arms, "The one who visited Neuro-_nii _this morning."

"The sexy one?"

Mutsuki instantly glared at Yukinori, and he immediately bit his lips shut. Wrong move.

"Yes. I wouldn't dare call her that, but I assume you assume her as one. Anyway, Kana-_nee _seemed to plan something by the looks of it."

"And how do you know of this?"

"Neuro-_nii_'s bodyguards, of course."

"You mean _your _bodyguards. They seem to be scared shitless of you the most."

"Of Neuro-_nii_, _nee-chan _and me, it seems. I have no problem with that."

Yukinori groaned as he looked around the spacious library, checking if there were any students near them. Seeing none—unless he counted the lone girl and boy mooching each other's faces in the corner behind a shelf—he lowered his voice and inched his face near Mutsuki's.

"So, about this confrontation thing... What d'ya suppose it's about?"

With a sigh, Mutsuki looked at Yukinori, snorting through her button nose. "She's jealous of her."

"Who? Don't talk in riddles all of a sudden!"

Mutsuki merely jutted her lower lip.

"You'll see."

* * *

><p>Neuro and Yako walked down the halls in a tense silence. It was a rare moment when it would be only the two of them, plus Mutsuki, would eat together. Yukinori along with Kanae and were nowhere to be seen the second their lunch break started. Shinobu appeared in the infirmary moments after their lunch had ended, and stealthily gulped down a can of beer from his pocket the minute the nurse took her break.<p>

Nevertheless, the contained rumors were still steadily floating about, and it was only until Neuro and Yako walked down the hallways—with their hands intertwined as usual—that the whispers stopped altogether.

"This is somehow nerve-wracking," Yako mumbled to a broadly grinning Neuro. She was sure the reason why the students suddenly stopped in their tracks was because of that haunting face of his. She did not dare to look at Neuro for the moment.

"Nonsense. It's only in your cobwebbed mind, maggot. Hold your head high and don't look at the sides," he mumbled just low enough for Yako to hear. She nodded and did just as so, earning a few bows and greetings from her schoolmates.

These students were trying to look for a crack in Yako's confidence. Because really, if a girl's fiancé suddenly had a visitor dropping by in a school (of all places), and that visitor just happened to look like a model slash superstar, then it would be a go-signal for the people around them to wonder—_is she feeling insecure now?_

Yako wouldn't have that.

So she beamed with her brightest smile and greeted her schoolmates in return, all the while holding onto Neuro's hand like it was her lifeline.

_Don't let those words sink under your skin, self!_

Neuro noticed that Yako's hand was starting to get a bit clammy, so he gave it a firm squeeze, and Yako looked at him with a smile and whispered a simple word of thanks.

That was enough to make Neuro's eyes smile with pride.

"Now, about the books you promised to buy me today—"

"I know, I know. My wallet's going to bawl tears again once afternoon sets in."

He laughed, and she felt a pair of soft lips kissing her forehead, and she had forgotten that they were still standing in the middle of the corridors.

Talk about total public display of affection.

* * *

><p>Kanae gritted her teeth as she paced the school's ladies' room restlessly, nibbling on her thumb as she did so.<p>

She had been too confident, too brash about things earlier.

She glanced at her watch. It was almost three.

Her earlier meeting with Aya had turned out to be a mess—something that Kanae never expected.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror for a split second, and saw that her forehead was starting to emit beads of sweat once again.

Kanae thought she could hide it well. She had been denying herself of that for more than a year.

Denying herself that she had developed feelings for her best friend's fiancé.

It had started out when she had heard what Neuro said at the hotel two summers ago, on that warm night—him about wanting to be with Yako.

At the back of her mind, she wanted someone like that, too; one who would say such niceties to her and would protect her from harm as he had always did to Yako, and Kanae hadn't noticed for herself—a small crush for the green-eyed man bloomed in her ever fickle heart.

Yet she said nothing, did nothing but to merely look at him from afar.

He had always been looking at and for Yako only, after all. A very committed man.

And she wanted that kind of attention.

She had secretly been greedy, wanting all men for herself, yet she didn't make a move at her best friend's fiancé—because he was untouchable, off-limits, and had permanently settled his borders around Yako and Yako alone. He had made that quite clear since the incident on the roof two years ago.

In the madness and fickleness of her thoughts, one name suddenly popped up—the name of a man whom she had promised herself that she would love—

_Yuki...!_

A choked sob made its way to her lips.

Kanae knew someone might notice it, those sidelong glances and the upbeat mood she somehow sported whenever she talked to Neuro—it was why he never once uttered her name, for _he_ noticed it from the start—she _knew_, yet she hid it all from her heart, from her committed boyfriend, from her _best friend._

She had carelessly broken her own rule. _Never fall in love with your best friend's man._

Kanae fought herself not to cry.

"I didn't mean it... I didn't mean it, Yako...!" and she fell to the tiled floors, sobbing quietly. Kanae herself didn't realize that she had fallen for two men—

—the guilt overwhelmed her fickle heart.

And it had taken a slice of Aya's painful-but-true words to make her crumble.

How Aizawa Aya managed to see Kanae's 'heart' within a timespan of a little more than five hours was beyond her.

Kanae's eyes widened as she let out a gasp.

"What if she'd tell Yako?"

And Kagohara Kanae panicked.

* * *

><p>Neuro calmly hummed as he nestled Yako on her bed, rocking her lightly as he did so. He was in one of his rare light moods, and tonight, he was feeling the need to coddle Yako for once—<p>

—not that Yako minded it at all, in fact, she was quite surprised when she suddenly found herself being cooped up in Neuro's arms, her body tucked in between his thighs, without any form of harsh treatment from him.

_He's humming to himself. Should I be afraid of that?_

It was a little after seven in the evening, she concluded it was because of that, but still, it looked surreal to Yako.

She remembered how apathetic Neuro looked when Aya had popped up after their school ended. She had been standing in front of the school gates, clad in her flowing possession of killer beauty and killer heels, and Neuro had merely frowned at her, stating that there was nothing to talk about, and he pulled Yako close to him as he walked away from the blonde.

Yako felt smug since then.

Feeling her lips curling into a smile just the slightest, she held onto Neuro's hands and clasped them close around herself, feeling elated at being treated like a pampered kitten for once.

Yako blinked at the thought.

_Now I know why he calls me his kitten._

She smiled, and closed her eyes as she leaned comfortably on Neuro's chest, sighing as she felt the warmth seeping from his chest to her back. The calming sound of his heartbeat was enough to lull her to sleep.

_He's still humming._

Yako took a peek at Neuro's expression—his ethereal green eyes were closed behind thick lashes, and his thin lips sported a small, barely there smile as he hummed a quiet tune, a sonata that blended well with his baritone voice.

She snuggled up to the crook of his neck, smiling contentedly as Neuro toyed with the ends of her hair.

Even he was getting close to sleep.

His phone suddenly vibrated on the top of her dresser, and Yako instantly groaned. Neuro, as though broken from a spell, snapped out of his calm reverie and growled as he answered his phone in a way that lacked all sense of manners.

"What do you want?" he spat. No, he wouldn't let anyone ruin his good mood, not even if it's his—

"_Neuro-sa—_"

"Shutthefuckup. You're not the boss of me. Call me again and I'll rip your throat out."

"_But—_"

He hung up. And resumed cuddling Yako, his mood shifting back to its previous calm in a heartbeat.

"You're starting to act just like me," Yako observed with a smile. "Was that the vixen?"

He merely snarled and held Yako tighter. "No. No I wasn't imitating your way of hanging up on her."

She stifled a laugh, "Sure you didn't."

A knock came at her bedroom door, and Yako immediately slid away from Neuro just as the door opened.

Haruka came in with a smile, and she muttered a soft "come in" to someone whom Yako and Neuro didn't see from their viewpoint.

A muttered thanks was heard and Kanae came into view, her eyes puffy and her countenance bloated as she sniffled.

The moment she saw Kanae's face, Yako quickly bounded over to her, hugging her and asking her a lot of questions in a heartbeat.

"Did someone hurt you? What happened? Is it Yukinori-_san_? You two had a fight?"

Haruka merely stood by the doorway, watching her daughter trying to comfort the other girl, and just as she was about to close the door, Kanae broke away from the embrace and quickly performed the kowtow to Yako. Haruka froze. Neuro was surprised, and Yako merely stood, her mouth agape at her.

"Kanae-_chan_, wha—"

"I'm sorry!"

Yako looked at Kanae, confused at the gesture and outburst. Not knowing what to do, she awkwardly laughed, "Kanae-_chan_, I don't know what you're talking abou—"

In a split second, Kanae quickly clung onto Yako's feet and legs, sobbing, "I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! I didn't mean to, Yako, I swear I didn't...!"

Yako merely frowned and looked at her mother, then at Neuro, both who were just as clueless as she was.

* * *

><p>It was nearing four in the morning, and Yako was still wide awake, tossing and turning on her bed every now and then.<p>

"Worm, stop moving so much. Some people here have more pressing matters to attend to, wanting to get a proper and more than enough rest."

Yako blindly turned around, to Neuro's side, only to vaguely see his back facing her.

"Kanae-_chan _said nothing despite it all," he heard her whisper, and the familiar tug of her small hand on his shirt was felt. Even so, he merely grumbled.

"'Snot our fault she didn't say anything. Probably too stupid of a reason anyway," he muttered to the pillow cradling his head, yawning as he forced his weary eyes to close, but it was hard for him to do so if she kept on talking to him.

_Women._

"But she wouldn't be bawling her eyes out and doing the kowtow on me if it were a trifle thing. There has to be something that made her upset so much."

"Or maybe she was apologizing because she ate all your share of food for tomorrow's lunch in school."

A light punch was delivered to his back, and Neuro chuckled.

"Not funny, dummy."

It was then that he rolled over to face her in the dark, emerald-onyx eyes smiling at her barely illuminated face, and a long arm was draped over her waist as warm, peppermint-scented breath fanned over her forehead.

"Stop worrying so much, you worrisome worry-wart. You're affecting your sleep. _And mine._"

"But—"

"No buts. Sleep. You can deal with the drama tomorrow. My eyes are tired and all your incessant wriggling is making me want to squish you flat on the bed just to make you stop."

"But Kanae-_chan_—"

"That boy-hoarder will live. Sheesh, it's not like you're running over her overly-dramatic-and-snivel-driven life. Try to think of yourself for once."

She glared at his chest, pouting, "Easy for you to say. You're always thinking about yourself."

"Hmph. I see nothing wrong with that—thinking about one's self is quite natural."

She said nothing more, opting to just rub her face on his clothed chest still, groaning on the fabric, and her voice made him smile as he ran a hand lazily through her messy, now shoulder-length locks. He had once told her that he would like to see her have the appearance of a girl with long hair, he had meant it as a joke then, but then Yako took it as a challenge and did as he had suggested, despite her inner protest of not doing the said task, as her hair would become wavy on the ends and would be easier to get tangled. Neuro was pleased at the change of her hair, at least—he wasn't keen on showing it to her verbally, though.

Smoothing a stray lock of her hair away from his finger, he smiled upon hearing her breathing slowly evening out, her hold on his shirt relaxing as her eyelids slowly drooped, and she fell asleep.

Yawning once more, he rested his hand on her head, closed his eyes and smiled as he kissed her brow, and he too, fell into slumber.

* * *

><p>Yako frowned upon sitting on her desk on one rainy morning in school. Kanae was nowhere to be seen, her desk was empty, and she wouldn't answer Yako's calls.<p>

Yako sighed.

"Don't just frown and sigh, you lesser animal. Do the Earth's nature and its inhabitants a favor and spare the environment with your useless and foul breathing."

Yako tried not to sigh once more as she felt the familiar feeling of Neuro's socked feet grinding on her scalp. _Right. It's raining. He's in a bad mood. Take note of that, self. _

Trailing her eyes to her right once again, her spirits felt lifted when she saw Mutsuki, who was eating on a caramel-flavored lollipop.

"Mutsuki-_tan_? Have you seen Kanae-_chan_? She hasn't been answering my calls."

The little teenager merely blinked and shook her head, her mouth full with the sweet treat as she spoke almost incoherently. "Haven' he'rd fro' Kana-_nee_, Yukkichi sheems irrita'ed 'choo," and she slurped on the caramel once again.

"Eh? Yukinori-_san _doesn't know either?" and Yako saw Mutsuki shaking her head. It was the second day that Kanae was absent from school, and Yako felt as though it was her own fault for making Kanae cry—no matter what the reason was—it was Yako's nature to be kind hearted, after all.

* * *

><p>The sound of a phone ringing echoed through Kanae's pounding ears. Frowning upon looking at her phone's screen, she turned it off immediately after seeing that it was Yako who was calling her.<p>

She swallowed a grumble and rubbed her face on the pillows of her too comfortable bed, clutching her teddy bear in one hand while gripping her phone with the other.

_I can't face her yet. Not after what I had done._

She looked at her bedside clock, her puffy brown eyes glaring at the neon green numbers on the device.

"Noon. Ugh."

She received a call from Yukinori the moment she got up from her bed after a few minutes; even so, she ignored it.

"Yuki doesn't know what happened," she grumbled to herself as she padded to the washroom to brush her teeth. Her parents were away on work, and assuming she called in sick at school, they left a note on the fridge telling Kanae to reheat the food on the table.

She grumbled a silent protest to herself, and just as she chowed down on a banana instead, a sharp series of knocks echoed from the walls.

She opted to ignore the knocks and just sat at the table—_maybe if I don't answer long enough, they'll leave_—and gasped when she heard a loud crash.

Jumping to her feet and putting on her slippers, she shrieked when she found Godai Shinobu lying almost lifelessly on her doorstep, his whole body full of scratches from the shards of glass from her front door.

"Neuro, you didn't have to do that to Godai-_san!_" and the sound of Yako's voice trying to yell at Neuro's too tall build and too blank smile met Kanae's shock. Beside Yako were Mutsuki and Yukinori, looking quite surprised upon seeing Kanae.

And the flood of questions barraged her, from Yako and Yukinori mostly, both of them ignoring Shinobu's curses and groans in the background.

After a barrage of complaints from Yako to Neuro―_you didn't have to throw him on the door, dummy!_―Yukinori angrily made Shinobu clean up all the shards of glass with a threat. The bleach-haired man winced upon moving, and when he was about to stand, Neuro happily pushed him back on the sea of glass, blankly smiling upon hearing Shinobu yowl in pain. And for added insult to the injury, Neuro stepped on his back, using Shinobu's glass-ridden body as a doormat.

Yako merely bowed in apology to the groaning Shinobu as she stepped aside and entered Kanae's abode while Mutsuki smiled, hopping along the shards of glass on the poor man's back. Yukinori followed Neuro's example, unsurprisingly.

All the while, Kanae stood there, speechless as her friends entered her house.

* * *

><p>Kanae sat on one of the sofas in the living room, watching her friends bicker at some nonsense or another. Yukinori was yelling obscenities at a now bandage-covered and injured Shinobu, who was still fumbling with the bits of glass stuck on his knee. Mutsuki was fiddling with one of the throw pillows that she grabbed earlier when she sat.<p>

And sitting there on the far left of the spacious brown leather couch, huddled and coiled closely by a pair of arms and legs that belonged to a possessive and grinning Neuro, was Yako, smiling awkwardly while trying to pry his fingers digging into her uniform-clad skin.

Kanae mustered a weak smile in return as she asked a question that had been bugging her for some time. "Why are you here?"

"Kanae," Yukinori then started, ignoring Shinobu's rants of pain from beside him, "the question is, 'why are _you _here'? Ya do realize tha' we just left school just to get here, righ'? The only thing ya can do for us is ta answer why yer here and not at school."

The unfamiliar way of speech from Yukinori seemed to startle Kanae—_Yakuza-speak, perhaps?_—but she quickly recovered with a dismissive "I'm fine, I'm fine" before being cut off by a composed-looking Mutsuki.

"Kana-_nee_, I think you should have a talk with Yukkichi. You have something that you should tell to him," Mutsuki curtly replied with a straight face, hugging the throw pillow close to her chest. From her right, she heard Yako hum.

No. Nothing was going right for Kanae. Everything was going wayward. This wasn't supposed to happen. She should have been talking to Yako in private about the matters of the heart and of forgiveness, void of these prying people―including her prattling boyfriend.

_The fact that Nougami-san is here makes matters even worse. He shouldn't even be here!_

"I think I should talk to Yako first before anything else," Kanae slowly muttered, her gaze shifting to her left as she spoke.

Yako said nothing about it, merely opting to frown as Neuro's "embrace"―if you could call it as such―tightened around her warm flesh even more.

From Kanae's viewpoint, she could see Neuro whispering something to Yako's ear, and Kanae saw her nod as Neuro lightly patted the side of her head; and he then rubbed his cheek quite affectionately on Yako's, smiling calmly still.

Kanae felt her heart sink just a bit.

* * *

><p>Opening up to Yako had proved to be a quite difficult task for the nervous Kanae.<p>

It had started with an awkward silence in Kanae's room, just the two of them―leaving the others in the living room―Yako and Kanae merely looked at each other. Yako remained calm while the other looked as though she was about to lose any shred of sanity and composure she had left.

Then Kanae started to open up. Bit by agonizing bit, she talked about random things with her shaky voice, then when silence reigned in the room once again―Yako remained silently listening throughout―Kanae dropped the bomb on her best friend, about the feelings that she suppressed about the man who had always been her best friend's man, about the fact that she had hid herself from the assumed wrath that Yako would bestow upon her once she knew, about her own fickleness of the heart, of unknowingly betraying Yukinori, and about the fear that blossomed in her heart that their friendship would crumble because of such a thing as―

"Kanae-_chan_," Yako started, cutting off Kanae from her tears and tirade of fears and insecurities as she calmly reached out and patted her on the shoulder, "I can never get mad at my best friend..."

* * *

><p>Neuro, as much as he was having fun poking Shinobu―literally―in his misery of having glass shards on his right knee, was getting bored as seconds ticked by. His Little Louse was still with the boy-hoarder, hogging all of said louse's attention―and he never wanted that.<p>

Not to mention, he was getting close to ripping off his earpiece that was hidden by his hair. There was nothing worth listening about―not even the part where Yako's friend told her of the feelings she had for Neuro. He had known it since the beginning. No news there. It was why he never once said Kanae's name, after all.

_They're talking about girly-nonsense-shitty things again._

Groaning in boredom as he watched Shinobu stream a string of curses at a laughing Yukinori, Neuro felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Answering it without checking who the caller was―he assumed it was Aya―he growled as a not-so-polite greeting.

"What?"

What Neuro heard on the other line was not who he expected.

His eyes narrowed as he listened on to the speaker on the other line, and sliding his vision to his left, he saw that the remaining three of his acquaintances―_or friends?_―were also clutching onto their phones, their eyebrows also furrowed and their lips frowned as they all looked at each other with a wary glance.

It was Shinobu who summarized the news they all just received, muttering two words as he growled―

"Fuckin' shit."

* * *

><p>Kanae bawled on Yako's shoulder and poured out her innermost thoughts, her face marred with tears and red blotches as she apologized to no end. Her friendship with Yako had always been important to her even now―even if her best friend's attention was directed on someone else entirely.<p>

Yako had always been there to comfort her, despite it all.

Yako was calming her as she patted Kanae's back with a reassuring tone that she would never do such a thing as hating her own best friend and―

A sound of a flurry of knocks were heard from the door, and Yukinori peeked inside with a grimace and a pale countenance.

"Sorry to butt in on your girl-problems, but we got trouble."

* * *

><p>They never expected for such a thing to happen―and it happened in one of the hidden locations in the school, too!<p>

Police and students and teachers alike were swarming in the school grounds, buzzing and busying themselves about on the incident that had taken place in the indoor swimming pool in one of the two gymnasiums.

Yako and her company arrived in the gym just in time to see Ishigaki Jun running about and giving orders to students to stay in their respective rooms and wait for their parents and caretakers to pick them up.

Setting his sights to the towering Neuro who was standing behind Yako passively―_he's really hard to miss_―Jun strode briskly over to them and let out a deep sigh.

"You guys should have never returned when you left earlier," he muttered to a barely moving Neuro, whose arms were being shaken by his homeroom teacher.

"Why is that? The only thing I received from Brother is that there's a problem in the school an' we 'ave ta get here as soon as possible," Yukinori asked as he gripped on Kanae's now clammy palm.

At the mention of Yukinori's brother, a student who was standing nearby Mutsuki heard their short chat, and the student, a female, suddenly grabbed onto Yukinori's arm and cried.

"Someone's dead, Yukinori-_sama!_" cried the girl, a freshman, judging by the look of her uniform, and upon hearing her outburst, Yako's eyes widened.

"What?" Yako asked, her face as pale as snow.

* * *

><p>The blaring of the sirens was a distant noise in Yako's clouded mind. Someone had been killed. In their school. In the middle of the indoor pool at the gym.<p>

And the shocking thing was the identity of the person who was killed.

Striking wavy red hair. A purple and bloated face adorned yet marred with the most attention-catching make-up. A womanly body. A beautiful red dress.

A neck and a pair of wrists full of cuts and bruises.

Yako's blood ran cold the moment she realized who she was looking at.

Jennifer Ewing.

"A filament rope was coiled tightly around her neck. At first, we thought it was suicide, but..." the policeman trailed off, his index finger running over the barely visible stubble on his chin as he tucked his other hand in the pocket of his pants, his brows furrowed as he calmly looked at the gray body bag splayed on the floor, its contents showing only the victim's horribly bludgeoned face.

Neuro hummed beside the policeman, his black-green eyes wide and bright and his smile broad and toothy as he draped his arms around Yako's shoulders―an inappropriate expression for such an unnerving and gloomy scene.

Yako remained silent and stiff as she let Neuro talk. It was one of those moments that would leave her completely stunned―anyone would, she assumed.

"You ruled out suicide because of the way the rope was coiled, right?" Neuro asked rather excitedly as he almost bounced on his toes. Yako assumed it was because of the situation at hand. It was his third time of encountering a crime scene―the first being Yako's kidnapping, the second being the shootout in the bookstore eleven years ago, and this one being the third.

It probably filled Neuro with adrenaline rush, Yako supposed.

The ashen-haired policeman, Sasazuka Eishi, looked at Neuro and blankly nodded. "How did you know?"

At this, Neuro grinned and rubbed his chin on Yako's scalp, ignoring her grunts of pain. "By looking at the marks left on her right before you put her in the body bag. The rope marks left were clearly visible around her neck, not upwards―as all suicide-by-hanging victims should have―but _parallel_ to her neckline, which must have been a feeble attempt of a diversion to let the people assume that the woman committed suicide, which she _clearly_ didn't do. There were also rope marks and bruises on her wrists, those bruises are quite large, I must say—as though the killer had huge, burly hands. There were clear signs of struggle—see her broken pinky and the badly chipped nails? They looked as though she was trying to scratch at something—or _someone_. If you look closely, you could see a bit of something suspiciously red at the edge of her nails (and no, it didn't look like it was her nail polish)—in fact, I could tell from one look alone that that is blood. And besides, if she were to kill herself, there would be no way for her to commit the suicide here in the pool."

His hold around Yako tightened just the slightest.

"Seeing as," he then looked up and pointed towards the bars that hung the lights, "she couldn't possibly do the act in the middle of the pool. The bars that we assumed that would have supported her body weight were on an impossible distance to reach by hand alone. And even if she were to use the ladder leaning by the closet doors, it would be hard for her because the pool floor, as we speak, is very wet and slippery, she might make a mistake on getting a firm ground and might fall. Should the case be her making a fall, the ladder should have been splayed on the ground and should have had scrape and scratch marks left on the floor, not neatly arranged on the side like we're seeing now. Besides, the height of the ladder would still be not enough―it could only take her a feet and a half above ground at most, and the ceiling is probably about eight feet high."

Eishi merely nodded as Neuro continued, silently impressed by the young man's observation skills.

"She probably had been strangled to death first," and for emphasis, he demonstrated it on Yako, entwining his long fingers around her neck lightly, "see the bruises on her neck? They are large and black, she must have been planted here a few hours before she was discovered and―"

Neuro was cut off as Jun yelled and ran over to Eishi.

"_Sempai!_ _That _man is seen from the vicinity!"

Yako, quite confused at her teacher's outburst, looked up at Neuro with a questioning look.

Neuro merely grinned at her.

"The curtain rises, Louse. This is going to be fun."

* * *

><p>In the principal's office, Yukinori, Shinobu and Kanae sat across an agitated Hisanori, who had been pacing back and forth for the past ten minutes. Mutsuki, on the other hand, had left a few minutes after they entered, and had followed Neuro and Yako outside the school grounds, for what reason, she never said anything.<p>

Yukinori urged to see his brother at once, and had left Neuro and Yako when Neuro had refused to leave the crime scene. Yukinori thought the blond was thinking of the crime as a joke, but was stopped by a stern Yako stating that Neuro knew what he was doing. Yukinori left them at that. Kanae soon followed after him, not wanting to create an unnecessary rift between her best friend and Neuro, for they had just reconciled a few hours ago.

"Where are the hawks?" Yukinori asked as he continued to watch his brother make steady shoe trails on his office's carpet.

"I requested the press to leave. I had a hard time getting them to leave," Hisanori was frowning, and that had never been a good sign. Yukinori never once knew what his brother's smiles meant, and the only comfort Yukinori was receiving was a slight squeeze of Kanae's hand on his. Shinobu simply chewed on an unlit cigarette out of the stressed-out situation.

"D'ya think 'twas an inside job?" Shinobu asked gruffly as he glared at Hisanori's frowning face. The sight of it unnerved the bleach-haired man.

In response, Hisanori shook his head as he let out a deep sigh, "I don't know anymore, Godai. I don't know anymore—this isn't me right now." Shinobu merely held in a sharp retort—Hisanori didn't utter the honorific he had always attached on his name whenever he talked to him, and that was a huge deal.

_He's in deep shit._

Kanae merely sat there, unmoving and mute, completely helpless in uttering words of comfort. Her emotions were crashing lately, and the last thing she needed was seeing a dead body of her former classmate in the middle of a pool.

Just as she was about to have another breakdown, the door opened, revealing a poker-faced Yako and a smiling Neuro and Mutsuki.

Shinobu wasted no time in asking them—in a very angry manner—how the investigation went.

It was Yako who spoke in her most detached way of speaking—there was too much gloominess in the grounds that made even Yako feel cold and empty. Neuro was another case, though.

He never looked so happy since the day he told Aya that he was going to marry Yako in the future. _At least Neuro is optimistic about something._

"The police says they're going to interview the people she last associated with in school. Along with the teachers—and Hayasaka-_san_ himself," and Yako took a wary glance at the brooding principal. Hisanori merely grimaced.

"Nevertheless," Neuro interjected, "we all know that this could not have been a suicide case—there's too much sloppy work. Evidence is overlapping and those people at the forensics are clawing at the piling evidence. There's too much evidence."

Yukinori scowled, glaring at the smiling man, "Is that even possible?"

"It could, if you look closely at the missing pieces. First, she was expelled from this school, thanks to your brother over there, second, why would she try to kill herself in a middle of a pool when she could have done it in her house—wherever that is? Why try to expose herself to her former school? To bring guilt and regret to the persons who exposed her relationship with the Turk? And why was she in a dress like she prepped herself for a party? Too many questions, and," Neuro turned to Yako, his smile wider than ever as he faced her, "Yako? Did you notice something was a bit off earlier? Someone—too loud and creepy, for instance?"

It was then that Yako's eyes widened as he gazed at Neuro's ethereal green eyes, realization dawning on her face as she listened to what Neuro just said.

Her jaw fell open.

"The janitor insisting on cleaning up the pool earlier!"

"Correct. Now, what was the thing that stood out from him the most?"

By now, the room fell silent as the listeners' undivided attention fell on Yako and Neuro's conversation.

"He had an almost shoulder-length, greasy hair and…"

"Yes, and…?"

"…and he seemed to have really rough skin. Standards that Hayasaka-_san_ would probably never agree to—concerning his high standards on health about hiring staff."

"Anything else?"

Yako looked at the floor, thinking hard still. Something was familiar about the strange man earlier during the investigation—insisting on keeping the swimming hall dry when it was clearly stated by the police that no tampering of the crime scene should be done.

"…He was talking in broken Japanese."

"Yes, broken Japanese. The question is—do you recognize the voice?"

Yako hummed as she nibbled on her thumb, looking at anywhere but Neuro's face. He was looking expectant, prideful even, as though he was testing her to see if she could catch up with Neuro's intelligence.

Well, she wouldn't fail him, that's for sure.

Yako looked at Neuro, and put the mental pieces together, the greasy hair, the gruff voice, the odd behavior, the unnatural roughness of the skin.

It all dawned on her—

"Jody Tubulik. Wearing a mask."

And Neuro widely grinned at her.

"Correct."

And the room burst in an uproar.

* * *

><p>Neuro let out a hearty laugh as he plopped on Yako's bed, enjoying the feel of euphoric high from earlier afternoon.<p>

With his photographic memory, he had helped out the police with the case much better than the police themselves. Sighing, he crooned to a softly smiling Yako who sat by the bed. "I've never felt so exhilarated before, you see. Helping out with the case―it's the first time I've experienced such a thing. Having able to read through the "how"s of the killing—it's all thanks to those novels I've read, I suppose. And those lesser animals were speechless with The Corpse's real motive."

"Do you really have to call him a 'corpse'? Sheesh, and you really shove the police's incompetence in their face―"

"Of course I should," and he flipped his hand dismissively, "they were as useless as a white crayon earlier. And their interviews with the students were sloppy! Can I at least get a word of praise and worship from you?"

"Eh? And say what? That you're a promising young rookie detective and you needed to boost your overinflated, heaven-high ego?"

He shrugged, "That could work. Or maybe hug or two would suffice."

Yako laughed and joined him on the bed, her sweater-and-sweatpants-clad body sprawled beside him. "Nope. Don't want to."

He huffed, "Stingy slave. Shall I punish you for boldly refusing me?" And for emphasis, he squeezed her left cheek painfully, smiling blankly as she winced and rubbed her poor cheek.

"So this is what the great detective does in his precious time off? Humiliating his slave?"

He shrugged and looked at her with a coy smile, "Don't pretend as though you didn't feel proud of me, you scum."

She huffed and nipped on his ear as a response, "Yes, yes I felt proud. There, happy? You cleverly exposed her murderer, plus the motive that _sensei_―"

"He's not our teacher."

"―that _Tubulik_ is her killer. That he killed her to spite Hayasaka-_san _and to ruin his career as a principal. Jennifer loved him―and yet..." she trailed off, not wanting to elaborate the topic. "Though, Neuro, how did you know that the janitor was the imposter? I mean, if you didn't give me hints earlier, I wouldn't have known it was him. Why tell me?"

He smiled, in that cocky way of his, "To check if you are capable of solving mysteries, of course. Now that I've seen that you have a potential for solving crimes, I think it's safe to say that you have a wee bit of brain cells hidden in there. And to answer your question, the janitor assigned to the gymnasiums is quite small and had pudgy legs—and we clearly know that the Corpse is anything but small and pudgy."

"The real janitor could have been replaced, unknowingly, by the students."

"Even so, that ugly appearance of his gave way to me leading quick assumptions. You could call it my gut instinct. Great work today, slave."

Yako, for once, was speechless. Never had she received a compliment from Neuro. Sure, maybe once or twice she received some sort of compliment from him, but he stated them quite vaguely with mild implications and such.

Yako felt elated, and she couldn't help but to rub her face on the sleeve of his thick, gray sweater, inhaling his cologne in the process.

"Embarrassed, are we?" he joked, smiling calmly at her as he pinched her poor nose.

"I don't know what will happen tomorrow... I mean, _he _now knows that you're involved in his captivity, I don't think he'll let you off the hook."

He stared at the ceiling, contemplating about his words and actions for the day. Neuro had been attacking the contradicting evidence and questioning the incompetence of the police for saying such a thing as suicide, when it was clearly glaring at the living that it screamed bloody murder.

Jun had tried to keep Neuro silent, but his other boss, Eishi―as Jun said―had let Neuro speak out his mind. His statements proved to be quite accurate and held water―as expected from Neuro's memory.

Yukinori and the others were in awe, they knew he was smart and all, but they never expected him to have an amazing gift.

Their singular thought when they had discovered that Neuro had a photographic memory?

_He'll be perfect as a cheating sheet in exams!_

Yako had laughed back then, lifting her mood just the slightest.

Neuro let her drape her body over his. It was a welcomed gesture, and besides, she provided him warmth on this cold night.

"He's now detained for further questioning," she mumbled, and he only answered with a nonchalant huff and a mocking laugh.

"We'll see in the following days if there's progress. That Turk will be questioned on how he hypnotized the _real _janitor and coaxed him to wear a prosthetic mask that matches his face. He planned it beforehand, I'm sure."

* * *

><p>Aya walked down the school hallways two weeks after the killing had happened. She had observed from afar what happened during those two tiring weeks. The press and media floated about, followed by the brigade of teachers trying to calm down the parents and caretakers of their students. Hisanori and Yukinori were paying the price, standing in the front line of the human barricade and urging the mass of people to turn away from entering the school premises.<p>

Even some of the students were afraid that such a thing had happened―the freshmen and juniors were the ones who were shaken the most, some of them didn't know the history that the killer and the victim shared and what scars they left in the campus; some stories, in fact, they have only heard through their seniors' gossip. Only the seniors and the teachers knew all the dark secrets of the Turk and the Scot.

Mutsuki, surprisingly, had been having a hard time in dealing with the freshmen; Shinobu and several of the seniors in other classes were in charge of the juniors―

―and Kanae, Yako and Neuro were in charge of controlling the whole student body, as ordered by Hisanori.

"Alright! Silence! Silence, please!" Kanae yelled over the crowd of boisterous students, her voice hoarse over the microphone and her palms numb from slamming them repeatedly on the podium.

The student body was rumbling in an uproar over the outrage happening just outside of their school gates, crying for justice for Jennifer's death.

The senior students, however, were rather silent, opting to murmur only when the outcry was too much.

No one was staying still and silent in the mass of students; everyone whispered and murmured amongst themselves, clearly not listening to the speaker yelling her lungs out in front.

Neuro silently stood still behind a poker-faced Yako, smiling at the nuisance and stubborn of a crowd. And when he couldn't take the sound anymore, he decided to take matters in his own hands.

He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and with a pat on Yako's shoulder, he himself went over to the podium and stood, his shoulders squared and his faux cheer perfectly in place as he looked at the noisy student body with a deceptively innocent smile.

He emitted a light chuckle and widened his dark green eyes, inched his lips to the microphone and showed his toothiest grin to the crowd.

And in his deep and baritone voice, he calmly spoke.

"All of you, do the school a favor and just shut the hell up. All your senseless drivel and whining is making me want to slice your throats out with a fruit knife and feed your useless entrails to the starving dogs in the pound."

The whole auditorium suddenly fell as silent as the wind.

Yako slapped a palm to her face.

"That's more like it," and Neuro grinned. "Now, as we all know, the Student Council president will be having a few words. Please do try to keep your smelly mouths shut if you all want to live by the end of the day," and he returned to his previous post behind Yako, as though he said nothing at all.

Kanae had a hard time regaining her stunned body movements after hearing those words, and when she did, she nodded at him (shakily). He ignored her still.

"Um, thank―you, Nougami-_san_," she mumbled to the mic, and she smiled to the crowd of equally stunned students. "...Okay! Now that you've all calmed down, let's get to business, shall we?" and she cleared her throat as she spoke once more.

"Today, we are gathered together to mourn the loss of a person who had met an untimely fate. Some of you may not know her, but she had once been a student of this school. And her killer, sadly, was―a teacher here."

And gasps and stiff nods were exchanged in the crowd.

When silence resumed, Kanae continued her speech about the incident, the teacher and student's past, the incident with said student and teacher's illicit affair, and how their principal tried to control the situation.

All the while, the students listened.

Aya stood at the back, hidden by the students, yet she was easy to spot from the crowd, thanks to her blond hair. Yako saw her enter the gym earlier, though she didn't know exactly why—_probably to pester me and Neuro again._

Kanae's speech ended when Ishigaki Jun entered noisily through the gym doors, accompanied by the ashen-haired detective from before, and the students were wary once more.

After telling the students to stay calm and let the proper authorities handle the situation, they were coaxed to return to their respective homeroom classes until the hysteria outside subsided.

As they left the gym, Neuro and Yako briefly met Aya's soft gaze. Kanae, who was following them close behind, urged them to hurry up and leave, not before sending Aya a fierce glare and a nasty growl.

Aya merely scoffed.

* * *

><p>Kanae stomped her way to the school's rooftop, muttering curses in her wake. Mutsuki merely smiled and hummed, ignoring all things considered while Neuro hauled Yako over his shoulder, slapping her butt twice every five seconds.<p>

"That man-stealing, lecherous woman! I can't believe she's still in school! She doesn't even go here!"

"Well, Kanae-_chan_, let's just say we leave the issue with the vixen for now and focus on the matter at hand. Like—" Yako gasped when another blow was delivered to her butt, and she ignored it with all her might, "—like the one with the media trying to break in through the grounds. Yukinori-_san _and his brother are out there trying to keep them at bay, you know." Yako and Kanae had decided two weeks ago to put the ugly confession and tear-stained drama behind them—they had avoided an unnecessary fight, which brought both parties relief.

And besides, Neuro wouldn't let himself be the instrument to becoming the reason of their fight. Yako would cry over the lost friendship with Kanae, that's for sure—and a crying Yako had always been equals to a headache and a never-ending grouchiness for Neuro. Plus, he couldn't use his torture and playfulness on her if she were so emotional. He wouldn't have that.

They entered into the open air and laid down the linen cloth (courtesy by Mutsuki) on the concrete and their lunch boxes on the fabric and ate their fill; Kanae's rants in between bites of food served as their background tune.

"Be wary of Aya, Yako. She has a keen sense of what's around her," Kanae warned as she sipped on her can of peach juice. "She... figured me out in just a few hours, I think," and she bit her lip as she looked away, knowing full well that Yako knew what she was talking about. Yako merely nodded.

"Or maybe she knew from another source?" Mutsuki piped, her innocent smile perfectly in place as she chewed on a croissant. And yes, Mutsuki also knew about the whole Kanae-confessing-to-Yako-about-feelings episode.

Neuro looked at Mutsuki, then at Yako. Sensing his familiar gaze at her, Yako knew what Neuro was thinking.

_Aomi-san._

"I'm going to have a talk to that thing later," was what Neuro muttered, and Yako nodded.

Mutsuki and Kanae exchanged questioning glances.

* * *

><p>"...I don't care what kind of ties you have to cut! Just don't go blabbing my connections to people I don't even know! If anything bad happens to my property, you're dead. Get it?"<p>

And Neuro hung up the phone.

"You didn't have to be so harsh," Yako commented as she brushed her hair.

He huffed as he went over to Yako's bed, "Hah, that thing doesn't know when to stop yapping until I burn everything he owns in the house."

She stopped in her task and looked at Neuro dumbly, "You did?"

"What? That I burn everything he owns? Of course I do."

"And you look so smug of it."

"Of course I do." And he blankly smiled at her.

Yako stretched her arms and yawned, and she went over to him, squealing when she felt his hands sliding beneath her pajamas.

"Your hands are cold, dummy!"

"And I hate it, so I need to keep myself warm."

"By putting your hands on my bare butt?"

His grin widened.

They joked and they exchanged risqué touches, laughing when he tickled her feet—she stopped laughing the moment he used his tongue on tickling her lower belly, her laughs being replaced by a gasp and a languid moan.

They slept peacefully that night, their limbs entwined around one another beneath the thick coverlets.

* * *

><p>The digital clock showed it was two-nineteen in the morning, and all was cold and dark. Neuro, as Yako had always known, had always been a light sleeper. She had once deduced it was because of the kidnapping incident that had caused him to become like what he was now—a person who had unreasonable and fearful suspicions about everyone around him (aside from Yako) more than he could ever think of.<p>

He was trying to sleep then, soothing Yako's wild locks as a form of relaxation, taking in her scent as he did so—

A light shuffle and a faint sound of popping was heard from the doorway—

—and Neuro's senses suddenly became alert.

At first, he thought it was one of Yako's parents or maybe even Miwako, but their footfalls had always been accompanied by the familiar sound of slippers patting on the carpet, along with the faint sound of popping joints as they walked. He knew their habits and the way they moved—being with them for more than a decade—and yet—

—something was eerie about the sound itself.

Trusting his instincts—paranoia—Neuro sharply and repeatedly tapped Yako on the shoulder, hissing out her name as he tried to feel the knife beneath the mattress. Yako didn't know that he had such a thing tucked beneath her mattress—he had thought of it as a protection for her should anything happen.

"Neuro, what is it?" she grumbled sleepily in the dark, trying to look at him despite it all. When Neuro didn't answer, she tried to ask him again, but was cut off by a hand covering her mouth and hushing her to stay silent.

She felt him tapping her lips twice, and a cold pair of lips kissed her forehead. And he mumbled words which she could describe as strange.

"_Hide under the bed. Hide under the bed and don't move until I say so—now...!_"

Everything seemed to happen in a blur as Neuro put a knife in her suddenly shaky hand—she could clearly hear his palpitating heartbeat—and Yako felt being slowly and soundlessly pushed away from the bed, and she crouched and laid flat on the carpet, rolling under her bed as silently as she could in the darkness; and she heard Neuro slowly standing up, and right before she could see total blackness from beneath her bed once more, she saw the vague outline of Neuro's crouching form, his face probably as pale as a sheet and his eyes probably as wide as an owl's as she dimly saw him put his index finger to his lips.

And the bedcovers cloaked her dim vision once more.

_Surely this was a joke right?_

And yet, Yako knew or a fact that he wouldn't go as far as to put a knife in her hand—_and it's a huge one, too, by the feel of it_—she gulped and felt her hands go icy cold as she gripped the knife at arm's length. She couldn't see what was happening just outside this dim bed of hers and—

—she heard something—an eerie creak of wood; her bedroom door being slowly opened—

_Is it Neuro? Someone else?_

She felt her heart stop the second she heard a loud crash.

* * *

><p>And le plot thickens. :D<p> 


	19. Cogito

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen: Cogito <strong>

* * *

><p>A properly-made bed. A room cloaked in darkness. The eerie sound of a creaking door. A creeping sense of paranoia. Thundering heartbeats. Ears pounding in a deathly silence.<p>

The sound of something crashing. The sound of a gun clicking its safety.

The cringing sound of cracking bones. A banshee howl of pain. A dull thud resounding on the carpeted floor.

The booming voice of one angry Nougami Neuro echoing through the walls.

"Yako, now!"

And in a flash, Yako rolled from under the bed with the knife in her shaking hands; she crouched, and her sights tried to zoom in on her target despite the darkness surrounding her vision—the movements were hard to make out, her senses depending only on instinct and hearing alone.

Neuro had the would-be attacker pinned on the floor, and yet Yako couldn't make out what or where the crash had been.

Neuro struggled a bit with the person—a man judging by the grunts and the feel of the body build—furiously trying to retrieve something that slipped from his grasp. Using his tallness and larger body mass to his advantage, Neuro grinned as he blindly looked at the growling man. And with a quick crack of his knuckles, he perfectly punched the man twice—on the nose and on the gut—

—and in the midst of the fight, the lights suddenly turned on and temporarily blinded Yako and Neuro's vision. By the door stood Haruka, Seiichi and Miwako dressed in their nightclothes, the three of them screaming at the sight of a bloodied man, and beside him was Yako's bedside lamp and its bulb completely crashed from being smashed. The man was trying to slash Neuro's torso with a concealed knife—and yet he only managed to hack off some of Neuro's hair and scratch his right cheek.

And Yako shrieked.

"Miwako, call the police!" Seiichi barked, and the Katsuragi caretaker did as she was told.

Haruka screamed incoherent words, and in her panic, she ran over to the black-clad man and stepped on his hand trying to reach the gun that was lying near the door. Seiichi ran back to their bedroom and took the heaviest thing he could find that would cause a hefty amount of damage—a metal hammer—and returned to Yako's bedroom—

—only to see his daughter crouching and pointing a large knife down the man's open mouth.

"Try to move again and I'll shove this down your throat," Yako sternly warned, and for emphasis, she inched the knife further down his throat, the sharp tip just a millimeter away from touching the back of his throat.

A tear rolled down the man's eye as his reddened eyes widened at Yako—

—and a large hand gripped his hair. Neuro showed him a toothy grin, one that exposed his fang-like upper teeth, his expression haunting as a stray drop of blood dripped down from his cheek to his chin.

His face showed his true sadistic form.

"What are you trying to do, you filth?"

* * *

><p>The sound of the sirens were becoming a haunting tune for Yako—a sound that she wanted to forget.<p>

It was two-fifty in the morning when the police arrived, and they were greeted by a shaking Haruka and a hoarse Seiichi. Arriving in Yako's room, the policemen, led by Sasazuka Eishi, coincidentally, were surprised to find a rope-bound and gagged man writhing on the carpeted floor, and standing near the man was a triumphantly smiling Neuro—who now had a band-aid on his cheek—and an almost composed-looking Yako silently fawning over him. Eishi observed that the young blond was clearly enjoying the attention Yako was giving him—

—not that he would interfere and all.

"Ah, Sasazuka-_san_, good to see you again!" Neuro happily greeted as he reached out to Yako and pulled her close into a hug.

Eishi blinked. "Oh. So it's your house this time, Nougami."

"Eh? Oh! No, no. You have it all wrong!" he squeaked in his highest pitch, and he nestled Yako's head beneath his chin. "This is Yako's house, not mine."

The policeman's eyebrow raised as the other policemen gathered the beaten and bound would-be thief.

"Then why are you here?" Eishi asked in his passive and gruff voice, eyeing Neuro suspiciously.

"That's because I am Yako's fiancé," he said, rather happily too, should Yako observe. He said it as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Her caramel eyes watched as the men in blue police uniforms dragged the heaving and whimpering man away, and for a second, Yako's hand gripped onto Neuro's arm, her eyebrows furrowing as she inched her back closer to his torso.

* * *

><p>"Apparently, the guy had guts to go through the front door like he owns the house. He used this," and Eishi showed a picture of an axe lying just near the door of the Katsuragi home. "In fact, we've been trying to track him down since last month. The man often changes his targeted areas. It just happened that that brave young man over there," he pointed at a bright-eyed and smiling Neuro, "seems to be quite adept at using the best of his abilities to protect people—especially to her." And he pointed at Yako, who was stuck in between Neuro's eternally intimate and possessive hold, both of them seated at the couch.<p>

It was past three-thirty in the morning, and no one was still sleeping in the Katsuragi house—

Cleaning up the mess that had littered in the front door—a broken pot of a plant and a now totally useless doorknob—and in Yako's bedroom made Haruka grumble in silent fury over the would-be thief, yet even so, when the clean-up, pleasantries and re-introductions were over—_So you know Jun-sensei? Why, yes, he's a fine young man! A bubbly teacher, he is!_—Seiichi urged Yako and Neuro to return to bed and sleep, stating that they needed more rest than the adults (stress and trauma on the children were his reasons); but Haruka knew better.

Neuro would willingly stay up all night just to make sure no such thing would happen again.

Throughout the years, Haruka observed Neuro from afar, and over time, she came to know of the green-eyed boy's habits around her daughter—she knew through Zera a long time ago—and she thought that maybe it was because of that dreadful incident with Yako that he became what he had become now.

At one point, Haruka didn't know if him being an overprotective fiancé to Yako was a good thing or not.

But tonight made her rethink her previous thoughts of him.

If it weren't for Neuro, they would have been robbed or hurt—or even killed.

When the police have collected necessary data for the arrest and have left, a relieved Haruka called over her weary husband to check on their daughter and their "son".

Haruka was not surprised to see Neuro covering the thick blankets over Yako and himself as he wrapped his limbs over her sleeping child. Neuro was aware of their presence, as he was facing the door when he was tucking Yako in bed—

—he would be shameless in front of Yako's parents, for once, not withdrawing his hands and legs that were draped snugly on Yako's sleeping form beneath those blankets. Her back was facing the door, oblivious to her parents looking at Neuro with almost relieved expressions on their faces.

And as though he read their minds, Neuro calmly put a finger over his barely smiling lips and draped his arm once more around the still sleeping Yako.

"_Good night, Mother and Father,_" he mouthed.

It was then that Seiichi and Haruka smiled approvingly of him.

And even as they bid them a silent goodnight and slowly closed the door behind them, they could see Neuro, still looking at Yako with a content smile.

* * *

><p>It was past ten o'clock when Neuro woke up to the sound of a chirping bird perched on the window sill. Cursing as he looked at the time, he glanced over to where Yako was, sleeping so peacefully beside him, with her arm draped over his chest.<p>

Debating whether to get up or to stay in bed, he thought of the events that happened last night, leaving room for him to watch over Yako even more.

_Her mother definitely had a reason as to why she didn't wake us up. I see the alarm turned off._

He patted Yako's head, smiling when he felt her snuggle her head to the crook of his neck.

Deciding to sleep in for the day, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, his one hand blindly trying to feel the knife that he tucked beneath the mattress just after the police had left.

Yako had questioned nothing after the whole ordeal, simply following his orders that night and trusting him to the fullest.

The rest of the Katsuragi household had said nothing, too—opting to let Neuro fix the doorknob that became absolutely useless last night. Apparently, he had fixed it by calling Zera at an ungodly hour and demanding the Nougami caretaker to bring the best lock that he could provide.

Zera had arrived an hour after Neuro's call, the time when the blond was already falling fast asleep.

Haruka and Seiichi didn't wake him up then, seeing as Neuro had already made himself comfortable by making their daughter his personal bolster.

Neuro had been oblivious that the Katsuragi couple saw him smiling contentedly as he hugged and cuddled Yako through the night.

Not that they would tell him, anyway.

Neuro checked his phone that was lying on the dresser, grumbling as he saw two texts from his homeroom teacher and one from Yukinori—all messages stating that Yako and Neuro should take a rest for the day—he silently tossed it back on the dresser, noting the lack of lamplight that should have been there if he hadn't used it as a weapon against the attacker last night, and cuddled onto Yako's sleeping form once more.

Yako's bedroom door opened after a couple of hours, and Miwako came in to check on them, only to see that both Neuro and Yako were still fast asleep in bed.

She left them like that.

And when the two of them woke up at two o'clock past noon, they immediately went to the dining area and gobbled down the feast that Miwako had made exclusively for Neuro and Yako.

Much catching up commenced between Yako and her mother, who had been extremely worried and had not slept a wink last night for fear that another thief might try to ransack their house. Yako assured her mother that she had been fine all night thanks to Neuro and his hypersensitive hearing—who had been smiling broadly the whole time the conversation was taking place—Haruka then praised her "future son-in-law", to which Yako replied with a furious blush and a lot of stammering in between bites of food.

"Neuro, dear. How did you know that it wasn't one of us three who was standing outside the door?" Haruka asked incredulously as she chewed on a tamagoyaki while looking at Neuro's utterly happy façade.

He scratched his head in an attempt to make himself look innocent—he could never fool Yako, though. "Eh heh, after almost living half of my life in this house, I must say, I came to memorize the distinct sound of the footsteps that each member of this household has. Plus, I heard the sound of popping and clicking that night—those sounds were, no doubt, from the gun that was trying to fire," and he completely dropped his innocent façade as he looked at Haruka with complete austerity.

The mood suddenly became grim, and Yako laughed awkwardly just to ease the tension, holding Neuro's hand in hers beneath the table. She knew he was becoming guarded.

"W-well, Mother, why don't we forget all these unfortunate things and just move on? Like, um—could you please pass the anmitsu? ...Thanks. And see? The anmitsu has nice colors and has a sweet smell to cheer us up! Why don't we follow its example," and Yako forced her widest smile to her mother and to Neuro, who finally gave in and heaved a sigh.

And the conversation turned light once more, flitting from one topic to another, and just as Yako almost finished her meal—after 20 servings of everything on the table—the telephone rang.

"I'll get it!" Yako cheeped, but was beaten to it by Neuro who had already stood up and wordlessly went over to the foyer to answer the phone.

The silent drone of his voice echoed in the halls, and Yako shrugged to her mother, who looked quite pleased as she leaned over and whispered to her daughter.

"He'll treat you like a queen, for sure," and Haruka giggled as she looked at Yako, the 18-year-old's face becoming much like the raspberry she was eating.

Unbeknownst to Haruka, her daughter was thinking of things that she would never even share with her.

_He's treating me both like a slave and a queen in bed. Does that count?_

Neuro returned with a smile on his face, his eyes wide and bright as he spoke. "The police from last night called. They wanted me to go down to their station and make more statements about the attack."

Both mother and daughter looked at each other, puzzled.

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to go with you?" Yako asked as she pouted at a grinning Neuro. They were now crossing the streets, their hands entwined as per usual as they braved the cold October wind. Their scarves fluttered at their sides and their coats made them warm—something that Neuro took as a consolation for going out in the cold.<p>

"Because I need you to say some things down the precinct."

Yako stayed silent after that.

* * *

><p>Sasazuka Eishi was calmly trying to calm himself when Neuro and Yako came in. It was then that the police detective heaved a sigh as soon as he saw them—Neuro was smiling widely while Yako remained looking poker-faced and grim.<p>

"Sorry to disturb you two on your day of rest," and the ashen-haired man stood from his desk and went over to greet them, "but the man has got some anger issues. He kept reciting the Japanese Constitution ever since he has been put in his solitary cell." And he rubbed his temples once again.

Yako blinked and tilted her head to one side, "And this has been going on for...?"

Eishi rubbed his stubble as he looked at his right, mentally counting the numbers of time, "A full ten hours. He hasn't slept and eaten anything, really. Just yelling out every law in this country since he came here. Some of the inmates were getting irritated at his noise, so we put him in a solitary cell—his voice still echoes, though."

Neuro chuckled as he loosely draped his arms around Yako's shoulders and listened on to the shrill, distant scream coming from his left. He tried not to burst out laughing there and then, "He's reciting The Rights and Duties of the People, eh? So he knows how the laws work in this country. Shall we see him in his cell?"

"Only if you're accompanied by an officer. He was a hard thing to move from one cell to another. It took six officers just to move him. We can't risk of letting him out of his cell," Eishi mumbled, and he signaled over to an officer standing near the door. And the officer nodded as he led Neuro and Yako to the man's cell.

* * *

><p>"Please be one to two meters away from him," the officer sternly said, and he stood away from Neuro and Yako, a good two and a half feet away from them.<p>

Yako nodded at the officer, and faced the bright keep with apprehension, and all of a sudden, the booming voice of a man huddled in a corner screeched through her ears.

"—ticle thirty-three! No person shall be apprehended—"

Yako winced at the high-pitched scream, and she tugged on Neuro's sleeve, silently telling him to bend a bit so she could whisper to his ear. He complied with a broad smile.

"Is he a lunatic?" she whispered to Neuro, to which he replied with a mere shrug and an amused chuckle, whispering a deep 'Like I care' to her now reddening ears.

She tried not to retort something that might sound risqué—fearing of being overheard by the officer standing by.

_He has to control that alluring voice of his one of these days...!_

Yako returned her attention to the still screaming man—

"—arrant issued by a competent judicial—"

"Excuse me, but would you mind repeating that?" Neuro loudly interrupted with that sly smile of his, and just like that, the sound of yelling suddenly stopped. The man huddled in the corner, who had been hunched the whole time, slowly raised his head and regarded Neuro and Yako for the first time.

And without batting an eyelid, he yelled once again as he stood and ran over to the bars that prevented him from escaping. Yako instinctively took a step back, clutching onto Neuro's hand as she did so.

From behind them, Yako could hear the officer muttering a curse.

"Article thirty-three! No person shall be apprehended except upon warrant issued by a competent judicial officer which specifies the offense with which the person is charged, unless he is apprehended, the offense being committed!" and the man hastily tried to grab onto Yako's trench coat—Neuro was quick to pull her away, though.

Once safely away from the seemingly loon of a man—having Yako hiding behind him was enough—Neuro cheerfully asked, his smile wide and toothy as he eyed the man with an air of calm and superiority. "Article thirty-five, then? Do you know what it states?"

"Geh?"

Neuro raised his eyebrows, amusement still etched on his face as he crossed his arms, "'The right of all persons to be secure in their homes, papers and effects against entries, searches and seizures shall not be impaired', is what it says, is it not? Tell me, then—_who_ is the wrong one here?" And he inched his face to the bars, his emerald eyes wide and threatening as he grinned madly, "_Who_ is the wrong one? Hm?"

The sound of liquid meeting concrete was slowly heard.

Yako, who had been peeking behind Neuro the whole time, looked down, and her eye twitched as she looked at a familiar, yellow-hued liquid. She flinched as the stench of urine hit her nose. "You seem to do that to most people you encounter, Neuro," she mumbled sarcastically. The blond snorted as he leaned away from the now speechless prisoner, and Neuro watched the man plop disgustingly on his own filth.

Neuro huffed and cackled as he gleefully observed the man awkwardly sprawled on the piss-drenched floor. "I like that I do that to people, Yako! Gyahaha!"

Yako merely rubbed her temples.

The man grumbled the Japanese Constitution still, but on a lower octave than earlier, and he was staring off in space, leaving Neuro satisfied.

"Before you commit a crime, please do note that specific Article on our country's constitution. It might save you and your pathetic life—and that foul-smelling piss is soaking your ass," and Neuro pointed at him with his middle finger, using the most derogatory form of 'you' on his short speech.

The sound of footsteps echoed from the gray halls, and Eishi's voice bounced from the walls, "I heard the screaming stopped. Something happened?"

* * *

><p>Neuro and Yako left the police station at a quarter before five. They had done their part in stating and explaining details regarding their case with the thief—<p>

—that, and another matter.

"I don't get it, Neuro. Why would Sasazuka-_san_ want us to state things about Ewing's murder if we weren't even with her for two years?" They were going home, back to Yako's house, and they made a short stop in a supermarket to buy some supplies for Haruka—_No, Mother, you won't need a chainsaw and a flamethrower for cooking poached salmon_—and all the while, Neuro helped by putting every single thing he found the most expensive into the cart, whether useful or not, just to see Yako's usual over the top reaction at seeing the prices.

"Dunno. All I know is the cop offered me to be a part-time detective about the Ewing case or something."

"And you blatantly refused. I wonder why... Hm, Neuro? Would you like pancakes or pizza for later?"

"How about both," he grumbled as he looked at her face while he frowned and rested his elbows on the cart handle, his chin resting at his palm; she was so concentrated on choosing the better one to eat for tonight, and as he mentally predicted, she would give in—groaning and clamping her lips in between her mouth, her brows would furrow, and with a resigned sigh, she would just put both the box of pancake mix and the plastic of ready-made pizza dough on the cart, and would look forlornly at her wallet. All for the sake of food.

He smiled, and he was sure she was unaware of his openly-staring-at-Yako session, "And to answer your question, I see no merit in it for me. Just a lot of pointless crap about saying the motive of that what's-his-face. Yako, I won't be eating ice cream. Put that back—"

"I'll be the one to eat it," she pouted. "But I thought you like to solve mysteries and crimes? It's a good opportunity for you to actually get in touch with your dreams!"

"I never once thought of growing up just to be a cop and be fat by eating doughnuts and slurping on tongue-acid, carbonated drinks. I've always wanted to dominate the world, that one sounds nicer—it has a powerful ring to it, don't you think?" and he broadly smiled at her as soon as Yako looked at him with an indifferent air.

"Dominating the world. Really. Could your dreams get even more realistic?"

"Well, I _could_ try on creating a new empire for this world."

"Haha. Neuro, I am _so_ moved."

He blankly smiled at her, blindly ignoring the little sting on his right cheek—the scar from the knife was still fresh on his skin.

Buying the groceries made Yako almost bawl as she looked at the price she had to pay—_we don't need most of these! why put them in the cart, you ass!_—and later on, a cashier commented on how close Neuro and Yako are, to which Yako merely mumbled incoherencies and buried her face on Neuro's coat sleeve as she carried the grocery bags.

As they left, Neuro heard a female whisper behind—"_lucky couple._"

He smirked.

* * *

><p>"—so Sasazuka-<em>san<em> asked us about her connections during her time with us in school, and I was like, 'but we don't know her really well except for the fact that she once tried to steal my fiancé in front of me and so shamelessly in the middle of the street—Jun-_sensei_ can confirm that,' and he wrote something in his little notepad and when he asked about Tubulik, Neuro was all, 'I only see him as a teacher who taught his History well—for beginners,' and I almost stepped on his foot for saying that! Really, Neuro. You didn't have to emphasize how much of a narcissist he was when he taught us things."

"He taught nothing of use to his class. Period. And Yako, please chew your food. You've been throwing rice bits on my cheek for the past two minutes."

Yako gulped down a glass of water in a heartbeat and giggled, and with a slight nod from Haruka and Seiichi, who had been listening intently to her story, Yako continued. "So, anyway, Sasazuka-_san_ said something about Ewing having a suicide note hidden in her dress the day she was killed—but we all know she didn't kill herself. The note they found tucked in one of the folds of her dress was totally drenched in pool water and the ink was smudged; no words could be read at all, and they were asking if we know any reason at all for her to _try_ and commit such a thing. We didn't know what to say—I mean, I don't really know her that much aside from her being all Tubulik's pet when she was alive."

As Haruka and Seiichi openly exchanged views on how the case should be dealt with, Neuro silently finished his meal and washed his own dishes—he had a bit of shame for letting Miwako do all the work; the house wasn't his, after all—and returned to the table to munch on a bowl of stemmed cherries sitting near Yako. He looked at the still eating girl, grinning when he put his right hand beneath the table and felt up her thigh.

Yako tried not to squeal in surprise.

"How about if we parents call for a council meeting about this? This incident is quite outrageous!" Seiichi exclaimed. His daughter and his future son-in-law could be in danger one of these days in the school that they go to and—

"Now, now, Dear. Let's not get ahead of the proper authorities. Besides, Jun-_chan_ is there with them everyday as their homeroom teacher. No harm will come to our children."

Neuro and Yako looked at each other, and they asked in unison. "'Jun-_chan_'?"

In response, Haruka giggled and shrugged as she grinned, "He told your father and I to just call him that—he called earlier morning when you two were still sleeping. Oh! And he said he'll give us a surprise one of these days! I wonder what is that..."

Neuro and Yako made a mental note to ask Ishigaki Jun about that surprise tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Yako, after finishing her nightly bath, blinked upon seeing Neuro on her bed, sitting cross-legged and fumbling with bits of metals scattered on the blanket-laden mattress. They had gone to a hardware store earlier, just after they bought groceries, and she wondered what Neuro would want with little metals and bolts and wires and tiny ping-pong balls.<p>

"Neuro, what are you doing with that?"

"Nothing much. Just making some improvements with the previous tracking devices I put on you. Yako! Feast your eyes on this!"

And Yako squeaked as a strange, little bug crawled on her bare feet and leg—

"Stay still, stupid. That's one of my inventions."

Yako tried to stay still, really—but that creepy feeling of tiny little legs crawling on her freshly-bathed skin was just too much.

One of the two creepy things crawled all the way to her arm, and to her shoulder, where Yako could clearly see what it looked like up close. It looked like an eyeball—a blinking, crawling eyeball with a glassy-looking eye, with four tiny legs and with realistic-looking red veins surrounding the eyeball itself. It looked like something that resembled a Halloween prop more than a—

"This is your tracking device?" Yako asked, her face still baffled and aghast. It looked disgusting at first glance.

He blankly smiled at her and her reaction, "Yes. It looks adorable, isn't it?" And he chuckled at the disgusted look she gave him.

"Your definition of adorable is quite strange," she said, making sure she wasn't stepping on any of his 'minions' as she went over to the edge of her bed.

"It's not strange. Look! It's an anatomically-correct eyeball! And this perfectly, anatomically-correct eyeball shall serve as my eyes whenever you're not wearing the choker. Isn't it nice of me?" And he innocently smiled at her and her appalled visage, and as Yako sat carefully on the edge of the bed, more of his little eyebugs crawled on her, this time, on her lap and on her back. Yako dreaded the seemingly inevitable feel of one four-legged eyeball creeping into the gap of her towel-clad self.

"If you're wondering if it's waterproof, yes, each of them is waterproof. So even if it rains, it could safely hide behind your ear to protect itself while you're out sopping yourself wet in the rain."

"How considerate of you."

"I know."

Some of the bugs finally crawled away from her, and went over to Neuro's side instead, squeaking away their little legs as each eyeball looked at Yako's back, more specifically, at her lower back.

He grinned.

"These toys of mine were made to follow specifically what I want to see. It's hard to comprehend, I know—judging by your lack of minimum intellect—"

"Hey—!"

"—but it's only through me that they function properly. They follow what I want to tail, _who_ I want to tail (that's _you_, for the most part), and where I want them to tail. They follow the motion of my senses and my every whim. It's one of my greatest creations yet."

"Do you really have to shape it like an eye?"

"What—it's aptly created! A befitting shape for a befitting purpose!"

Yako hummed, her mind struck with awe at how he explained his work. Sure, she had seen his works before—his _finished_ works, to be precise—but never had she seen him actually working on his inventions until now.

"You look proud of it."

"Of course I am! With this, I can spy on you if you're in the bathro—"

"Don't get any ideas!"

"You didn't have to slap me! And besides, I've already seen all of you! What makes it different?"

"It reminds me of Higuchi, damn it!"

Silence. Tense, awkward silence. And then, a shuffle of cloth.

"...Oh."

"That's right, Neuro. _'Oh'_. Now don't make me repeat myself or I'll g—rrpffft!"

She was shoved to the bed in a split second, and three fingers invaded Yako's mouth in an instant—and a happily smiling Neuro beamed down at her.

"You were saying? Did you just blatantly compare me to that rotten and shitty mongrel? Eh, Yako? I'll have you know that I'm a very, _very_ inappropriate choice to compare to that sleazy, scheming slimeball."

"I ge' i'! I ge' i'! I'm sho'wee!"

Neuro let go of her poor mouth, and happily slabbed his hand on the towel that covered her body. "Good thing you realized the error of your words."

She massaged and lightly patted her cheeks, glaring at him with a pout, later realizing that her towel was slipping off. So she stood and made her way to her closet, grumbling about a certain grumpy blond as she went through her sleepwear.

"I can see a bit of your woman-jewels over there," Neuro said, grinning widely as Yako bent over to get her Victorian shirt and her sweater, along with a skimpy pair of hot pants that were small enough to be called lady boxers. Little did she know that a little bug was on the floor, peeking beneath her towel, giving Neuro more than enough access to her not-so-modest modesty.

"Well then, look somewhere else so you won't see them," she said as she pulled out her shorts from a pile of clothes. Huffing, she looked at him, just as the bug hurriedly scooted away from her, "And whoever called these things hot pants were probably stupid. They're not even pants."

"You could just go commando—"

"Oh nononono. I see where that will go. Nope. You can't make me. It's too risky. Someone might come in and might see my lack of decency and I'll get punished."

At this, Neuro raised his brows, his teeth shown a bit as he spoke, "I'm the only one allowed to punish you. No one else. Not even your parents."

She rolled her eyes as she locked her bedroom door and quickly let loose her towel to the floor, dressing quickly so as to not let that cold draft drape her skin, "How gallant."

For his shamelessness, he silently and openly stared at her with a languid smile as she dressed in her nightclothes.

"I can sense your snake eyes on me."

"Of course. You don't expect me to simply smile and just look away when you're standing there in front of me, _naked_, so mindlessly teasing me with that skin of yours, do you?"

She sighed as she hung up the towel on the coat rack and made her way to the bed, turning off the switch on her newly-bought—just this afternoon while Yako and Neuro were out—bedside lamp as she buried her body in the warm blankets.

"Have you gone completely blind? I'm still here sitting while fixing some things on your lumpy bed. Unless you want my bugs to crawl on your—"

The sound of a squeak followed by the sound of a light being switched was heard, and Yako immediately scooted over to the edge of the bed. "Don't scare me like that, idiot!" and she looked at her blanket-covered self, not surprised to find two bugs looking at her, their creepy eyes seemingly scrutinizing her every move.

"They're programmed to my computer at home. You could say these are portable hidden cameras. They're now littered all over your house."

"Eh?"

"Relax, Snouty. They're hidden in the nooks and crannies of the house. A number of them are near the main doorway. Two near the potted plant outside the house. And the rest are sitting near the windows in the whole house. Should an intruder trespass, my phone will sound a loud alarm—enough to wake up the whole household."

Yako blinked, speechless almost, "…Oh."

"Impressed now, kitten?" he coyly asked as he fiddled with his phone, making sure that all of his bugs are at their respective positions before turning his phone off. "I forgot. One is sitting near your bedroom door, it's on the inside, though."

"So you can—"

"And one is staring at you right now behind you."

She sharply turned around and almost squeaked.

"It's one of the things I can think of to keep alert and to defend what is yours and mine," she heard him say, and when Yako turned around, she met a pair of dark green eyes boring into her honey-brown ones.

Her heart almost ached.

"Neuro," Yako started as she reached out to caress his face, and she knew what was behind that pained look, "_that_ incident will never happen again, I assure you. I have you, remember? We'll look out for each other, just like what we promised on Graduation Day. _That_ day will never happen again, okay?"

He tried to mince and understand her words, only making him end up looking away from her, his brows curled downwards, "We can never be sure if—"

He was cut off by a finger tapping his lips and by a face that showed concern, "Neuro, hush. It will never happen. Trust me on this." And she pulled him close to her bosom, smoothing out his hair and embracing him as she silently rocked him back and forth. It had always been a sensitive topic for him—her kidnapping, that is. She never knew how much Neuro had been scarred since that day, until now. She had only assumed that he was paranoid about certain aspects but—

—it was only now that she realized that what he had been doing (those cameras, those tracking devices, his constantly _clingy behavior_) was for her sake, for her safety, and for his sanity.

_We'll be fine, Neuro. We'll be fine._

And she slowly leaned back and laid down on her bed, with him still being cradled on her chest, unresisting to her gentle touch. For once, he wasn't being antagonistic to him being coddled by her—it was progress. She noticed the little eyebugs were now nowhere to be seen—_probably in hiding_. With her right hand, she turned off the light and scooted him closer to her body, and kissed the top of his head—as he had always done to her every night right before they go to sleep.

They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, unmoving, their breaths barely heard through the silent room, and then—

"You better forget this in the morning, that I have been weak in your arms tonight," she heard him mumble to her chest, and Yako stifled a laugh as she closed her eyes and steadily felt her bosom grow warm as she whispered in return.

"_Yes, Master."_

* * *

><p>Cherry blossom petals fell and flutter in the cold October wind, littering the ground with its slowly withering leaves on the earth, and Neuro couldn't help but to silently sulk as his tea was being pestered by a petal or two that kept falling in its bitter-tasting goodness. Yako laughed it off, but later regretted it as he threw <em>her cup of Earl Grey tea to Shinobu's face.<em>

The result was hilarious.

With all the commotion Shinobu caused by yelling and cursing at Neuro's face, the bleached-haired man—who recently had his left bottom lip pierced with two little lip rings—inadvertently caused a stir among the students; and within a few minutes, the students were talking about Shinobu being unreasonable and cruel and heartless for yelling at "_poor Nougami-sama in front of Yako-sama_".

Shinobu whined and bawled in a corner after that, praying to be saved from "the clutches of the angelic-demon-incarnate that was in a form of a gigantic blond with hellish green eyes".

It had been two days since the thief incident in the Katsuragi house, and the rumors were once again floating amongst the students—something about Neuro being injured.

It didn't take long for the students to blindly try and fawn and worry over their role model, and it had taken a lone, cold smile from Mutsuki for Neuro and Yako to be finally left alone without interruptions every five minutes.

Nothing new there.

So they, for a moment, had eaten in peace with minimal annoyances—Shinobu being one of those annoyances—and while Neuro's tiny scar was now barely visible on his face, Yako still took time to dab an ointment on it every now and then. It was Yako's amount of worrying that had Neuro worrying about, stating that he should be doing the worrying, and not her; yet, she had only replied with a smile and a peck on his cheek.

At the back of his mind, he wondered if showing his weakness to her two nights ago was a bad thing.

"Neuro, your torso's heavy. Stop squishing my back!"

"But you're so soft and warm," and he leaned even more to Yako's poor back.

"What does _that_ have to do with anything?"

"Heh. _Everything._"

At that moment, she could almost _feel_ him blankly smiling at her.

She finally succumbed to his whims without a fuss.

Yukinori and Kanae, who had been watching Neuro and Yako's exchange for quite some time, felt a bit awkward about the whole situation. Sure, they had their own problems to deal with—the Ewing murder in the school, for one—but they couldn't help but feel as though something was missing in their relationship. Seeing Neuro so openly and brazenly showing his way of affection to Yako was something that Yukinori had yet to do to Kanae; and seeing Yako so calmly and naturally and _contentedly_ taking in what Neuro had shown to her was something that Kanae had yet to do.

Mutsuki played with the cherry blossom petals falling on her hair, often piling all the petals she caught and putting them together in a circle—or a heart—then she would take a picture of it on her phone and would put it in the album with Neuro and Yako's stolen pictures were in it.

A calm silence surrounded them, and the wind soothed their forms. Yukinori tried to come up with an idea, any idea, of starting the conversation anew, and he started off with an awkward, "You know, I've been thinking—"

And the attention was now on the younger Hayasaka.

He was scratching his cheek and looking at anywhere but Neuro as he talked, "How about we go on a group date? You know, like, all of us... if you guys want to."

The silence was there for a moment, and then—

Shinobu, who had just wiped the tea from his face with his uniform's sleeve, erupted in his usual fit of rage, "Whatthefuckareyatalkin'about?" followed by the sudden wide-eyed look from Mutsuki and Kanae, then followed by Neuro and Yako's surprise combined in a unified monosyllable of "Eh?"

Yukinori suddenly bit his tongue and clamped his mouth shut, not before laughing awkwardly with a quick, "It was just a thought...?" and looking at them with suspiciously shifty glances.

Neuro was quick to make a comeback, "A group what's-it-called?"

"A group date, Neuro. It's where a particular group of people consisting in pairs of men and women hang out together in typical places where a date would usually be," Yako explained matter-of-factly, blinking at his puzzled face.

Neuro blinked back at her almost inquisitive face, "Why have I never heard of this?"

Yako, in turn, almost scoffed, "That's because we've never been in one before, dummy."

Neuro then grimly looked—glared—at Yukinori, "What's in it for us?" The green-eyed male was still secretly apprehensive about being around other people other than Yako and her family—he had only been all right with dealing others because Yako was with him all the time.

Kanae was quick to reply with a loud clap, suddenly liking the idea of Yukinori suggesting such a thing, "It will give us time to know each other and enjoy each other's company!"

"...But that's what we've been doing almost everyday since freshman year," and Neuro raised his eyebrow.

Shinobu crushed his half-empty can of beer with his hand, and he snarled and growled at Yukinori, "I dun' care what ya plannin' Boss, but I'm out of there."

Yukinori, who seemed almost fazed, retorted. "Ooh no ya don't! Ya won't get away with this one, Godai! You'll be going with us or ya'll be my footstool in class for a month!"

"Thefuck? Where'd ya pick that from!"

"From Nougami," Yukinori replied with a grin that strangely resembled Neuro's blank smile.

Shinobu slowly—and creepily—looked at Neuro, and there it was, his signature blank smile was aimed at him.

Shinobu's eye twitched.

_Shit._

* * *

><p>The local precinct was brimming with activity by five in the afternoon. Eishi called up Neuro earlier after he was sure school time was over—it was something about asking Neuro to describe Jody Tubulik's habits and whatnot. Apparently, the Turk was determined on clamming himself during interrogation sessions, and would often only mumble incoherent words, probably in Turkish, when being asked by the police.<p>

Neuro, who had been walking Yako home from school during the time Eishi called, had sounded cheerful and upbeat about describing the cogs and gears on how the Turk ticked.

The strange young man had repeatedly denied the Police Department's offer on Neuro becoming a part-timer in the investigation team. A prodigy such as him should be properly cultivated and should be provided with the best care so he should grow well with his amazing gift of remembering things very clearly, up to the smallest detail—those were Sasazuka Eishi's words to Ishigaki Jun back then, two days ago.

And yet Jun told Eishi not to rush Neuro about things that the young man was not prepared for—even so, Eishi was adamant on pursuing him and Yako (for her quick observation and insight skills) for the police force.

"_Sempai_, he's still a boy—he needs to grow mentally first," Jun said to Eishi. The younger of the two was fixing his latest animé collection on his table.

Eishi puffed his last drag of cigarette before crushing the butt on the ashtray laying next to a pile of case files. His black eyes glanced at the ceiling, thinking, then, as soon as he heard Jun saying something about spending his next salary on a new plush toy collection, Eishi slowly looked at the grinning man, who was now holding up a poster of a newly-released animé series. Eishi hummed and asked Jun to lend it to him for a bit; the joyful man agreed and handed the poster over to him—

—and Eishi unblinkingly burned it with his lighter.

Ishigaki Jun screeched.

"My poster!"

* * *

><p>Neuro returned to his home, grumpy and mentally swearing, and Zera, who was quite stunned at his outburst earlier, was in no place to speak when the master of the house was angry.<p>

The blond was huffing and rummaging through his closet of clothes, grabbing anything he had in his hand and throwing them aimlessly behind him.

Cursing, he growled and grumbled to himself as he blindly threw a white cravat to the bed. _How should I even know how a group date works? I should be only with Yako alone! This is so unreasonable and foolish. That pompous bastard of a brat._

Just as he was about to go on a cursing rampage with his clothes scattered in his room, the sound of a kitten meowing from his bedside table was heard. Neuro glared at his phone, then at the piece of clothing on his hand—a sleeveless shirt—and without hesitation, he threw the shirt on the bed and went over to the ringing (meowing) phone and answered it.

"What do you want, Mold-Brain."

_"You're angry."_

"You think? Yako. I have no idea what that group—thingamajig shit thing is. And why do I need to pick my clothes on this one? My normal clothes are just fine."

_"Neuro. Why do I sense you pouting over there? And your normal clothes are fine, but not for this one. We're going on a skating rink, remember? You need extra clothes. And—"_

"And you know quite _damn_ well how I hate the cold."

_"...I know—look. I'm sorry, okay? I told them it's fine with you and me and—"_

"And Yukinori the Snot-Nosed Brat knows that I hate the cold. Yet he _still_ insisted on going to that cursed boreal hell. He must have a death wish waiting from me."

He heard Yako sigh on the other line. The earlier talk about the group date, after Shinobu had unleashed his unending stream of curses at Yukinori (the poor guy got paired up with Mutsuki, that's why), were narrowed to two choices after much discussion between Kanae and Yukinori—why they were the ones who solely decided where to meet up, no one will ever know—

It was between a trip to the hot springs in the mountains—something Neuro and Yako immediately frowned upon, thanks to unwanted memories of a certain voyeur—or a trip to the ice skating rink opening next week.

The results were not to Neuro's favor.

"_Do you want to go to the hot springs, then?"_

"If there are mixed baths where I can keep an eye on you, then it's fine."

_"I can still sense you pouting over there."_

"I can sense you smiling over there, you sniveling swine."

_"I'm not sniveling. I'm just munching on some snacks."_

"Well, I hope they all go to your hippopotamus thighs."

He could hear her scoffing, and she yelled at him, something about him being a creep.

"I'm not denying that. I'm a creep when it comes to everyone. But I'm a hundred times creepier when it comes to you. Now, about that trip to the hot springs..."

He was broadly grinning now, his teeth bared as he spoke to Yako. He was making a plan to escape the group date altogether. Though Yako was adamant that the both of them should stick to the plan, Neuro was thinking otherwise.

Yako, who had been listening to his plan the whole time, gasped.

_"You want us to...?"_

"Yes. Now, all I need are some accurate calculations. Then we're all set."

* * *

><p>Saturday. The day of Neuro's dreaded "group date crap". And it was a sunny day.<p>

The group met up at a train station at eight in the morning. Yako, who had been feeding on the food stands near the ticket booths, was dressed in a plain gray and flared long-sleeved shirt that showed a bit of her shoulders, and beneath it was a thin but warm, body-hugging black tank top, and she wore a pair of whitewashed jeans and sneakers. She was wearing her choker today, and two of Neuro's eyebugs were inside Yako's backpack. Neuro himself wore a loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt, around his neck was a plain white scarf, and he wore a pair of black slacks and black gentleman's shoes—he had never preferred sneakers, after all.

Kanae, Yukinori, Mutsuki and Shinobu arrived just in time for them to see Yako gobbling on what seemed to be her fiftieth box of takoyaki. Neuro, from their point of view, looked amused by the whole thing.

"It's sunny today, as expected from the weatherman!" exclaimed Kanae as she pumped her fist in the air. Yukinori merely nodded in silent agreement. Shinobu, who was wearing a thick, red sweater and loose pants, growled while Mutsuki, wearing a cute, pink trench coat and with a white scarf around her neck, and wearing fashionable, little black boots, slurped on her can of milk tea.

"Kanae-_chan_, don't you think that's a bit appropriate for the summer?" Yako asked as she dumped the empty boxes of takoyaki on the nearby bin. Indeed, what Kanae wore seemed to be a bad choice for their destination. A skimpy pair of shorts and a thin, white, sleeveless, pleated babydoll dress with a crisscross back and a pair of killer stiletto heels as a footwear was something you won't usually wear when going to an ice rink—

"But I have Yuki with me! And he has a furry coat!" and Kanae giggled at Yukinori and his brown-tinted shades (he looked like a member of a yakuza that he was, frankly), his flashy silver and platinum necklaces and his overstuffed, flamboyant-looking, synthetic fur coat—at least, Yako thought it was synthetic fur.

Yako laughed awkwardly, trying her best to bite her tongue and not say anything sarcastic at her best friend's lack of consideration and proper etiquette. _Rule number one. Don't expect everything on your boyfriend. Just because you're going to wear an outfit suited for the blistering summer heat in the middle of an ice hell-hole doesn't mean that you have the right to snatch your boyfriend's comfortable-looking coat once you get your nips freezing off, then get mad at him if he wouldn't give it to you. It will be your fault if you become a human iceberg once we get inside, no thanks to your taste of senselessness. Just saying._

Yako's eye twitched and she kept leaning left and right on the balls of her feet with her hands behind her back. Neuro glanced at her. She sensed his eyes on her and looked at him. And Yako could tell by Neuro's calmly smiling expression that he was thinking on the same wavelength as hers.

Yako stifled a giggle. _He may be smiling on the outside, but on the inside, he's just itching to throw her to the rails for her unreasonable reasoning._

"_Nee-chan_, Neuro-_nii!_ Say '_nii_'—_!_" Mutsuki piped, and unconsciously, they did as told as they looked at her, and the familiar sound of a camera snapping and the sight of a blinding flash—

"—there! All done!" and Mutsuki hummed as she quickly tucked her camera away in her bunny-shaped purse.

Shinobu annoyingly looked at Mutsuki, and with each passing second, he was getting close to losing his already-short patience.

"Could we all jus' get tickets for the frickin' train 'stead of standin' here yapping!"

* * *

><p>Kanae stood in front of the gate of the ice rink, her mouth agape. "...You gotta be kidding me."<p>

A signboard of a construction worker bowing was placed in front of the building, and beneath it was a notice: _We apologize for the inconvenience. Closed for renovation._

"We came all the way here just for nothing! And the other ice rink we were actually supposed to go to is closed today!" she yelled, and she pointed her finger at the signboard.

"Eh? How did you know?" asked Yukinori, raising a brow at her and her ramblings.

"I called them earlier when we were on the bus, and—and now we have nowhere to go!" and Kanae threw a fit.

All the while, Neuro happily stood behind a nervous-looking Yako, stifling a wide grin about to bloom on his face.

Last night, he convinced Yako to convince Kanae to go to the newly-opened skating rink near the mountainous areas of Akita, and, just as he wanted Yako to tell her, she told Kanae that it will be opened on Saturday, but—

—what Neuro told Yako last night was that the "new" indoor ice skating rink was actually going to be renovated for three months time.

Neuro wasn't lying about the 'new' part, it was fairly new, having to be opened to the public just two months ago, but an incident of faulty wiring in one of the electric outlets caused a fire to break out and a part of the building collapsed—it was then closed from the public then on. Three people were injured in the incident, no deaths were reported.

Yes, he did his research on finding a flaw in the place they were supposed to go to—just to avoid the bitter sting of cold.

Why couldn't Neuro just man it up and say to them that he hated the cold since he was a child? That's because his pride as a man wouldn't allow it. A man should be brave, flawless and fearless at all times, was what he learned from his homeland.

Besides, if he went inside an ice rink and he'd catch a cold, then it would be inevitably followed by a nasty fever (it happened every time he was in cold places), then he wouldn't be able to get up from bed, which would mean that he would never get to pester and smother Yako for three weeks. And him being without Yako for a day would be equivalent to a grumpy Neuro. And a grumpy Neuro had always been chaotic in his surroundings.

He wouldn't have that.

So here they were, near the foot of Tazawa Kogen, in the presence of the cruel cold winds of the mountains, with nowhere to go to except—

"Eh. Kanae-_chan_. It's not the end of the world if it's closed down. Eh heh." Yako was taking two steps back just in case Kanae would notice that she was lying about not knowing the renovation date. But instead, Kanae's knees bucked and she slumped on the ground, looking quite devastated.

Then, just as Yako and Yukinori predicted, Kanae bawled.

"I even brought a leotard just for this ocassion! Waah!"

Yukinori slapped a palm to his face.

* * *

><p>"That will be six rooms for the six of us!" Yako cheerfully said to the receptionist. After quite a lengthy walk from the ice rink to the nearest lodging house in the area—they couldn't find any bus stops—any person could say that the odd bunch of six looked quite famished and parched.<p>

Save for Neuro—he had been eating manjuu and drinking tea while they were walking for two hours, and that was supposed to be Yako's snack. Apparently, he left half of Yako's manjuu stock empty, the rest were for her, of course. He wouldn't have a whining and hungry Yako while traveling—that would mean a headache for him.

The receptionist smiled and looked at the computer screen in front of her, tapping a few keys and clicking the mouse buttons as she muttered the number six. "Oh, I'm sorry. We only have room for three," she said apologetically, trying to smile as she made eye contact with Yako.

Neuro immediately wasted no time in hugging Yako from behind, grinding his chin on top of her head as he smiled and spoke. "We'll take it! And I'll room with Yako, of course!"

Shinobu and Yukinori snapped their heads to Neuro. "You'll what?"

In response, Neuro looked at them with his wide eyes filled with faux innocence. "Whaat? I always sleep with Yako. Right, kitten?"

Yako could only acquiesce silently while her friends looked at them strangely. "...yeah. I'll room with him."

Shinobu gaped, "Thehell? I heard rumors 'bout th'two of ya living together but I didn'know yer both married!"

Neuro and Yako then sharply glared at him, and they yelled in unison, "We're not married yet!"

* * *

><p>The atmosphere was splendid. Cool winds graced the trees and fresh air was breathed as Yako stretched her arms overhead. In the end, the rooming arrangements were arranged by Neuro and Yako, and they decided that it would be for the best if both genders were in the same room; Yako wouldn't have them walking for another mile just to find six rooms for the six of them, she was already close to strangling anyone who would come in between her and her raging hunger (the manjuu weren't enough)—so it ended up with Mutsuki and Kanae with one room and Yukinori and Shinobu with the other. Neuro and Yako remained their stance on being in one room together, their reasons varied, though—Neuro wanted her by his side because he needed her as his bolster, and Yako wanted him by her side because, well, she needed him as her security blanket. Not like she would ever admit that to him. Besides, she grew up sleeping with him almost every night, so it was normal for them.<p>

"I still wonder if they realize it that we did the ice rink suggestion on purpose so we couldn't go there. I guess it was a good thing Kanae-_chan_ called the other rink earlier—and still get the same results."

"You know how to use your words to convince people to what you want them to feel, I'll give you that. If I didn't know you any better, I'd say that you're a manipulator." And Neuro smiled at her as he changed into his yukata, never looking away from her all-too-mischievous eyes. "Like what you saw?"

"Y-yes." And she looked away, blushing. She definitely saw a bulge beneath those black boxers right _there_. _Ohgodnopleasenotnow—_

"Yako? What's wrong? Feeling bothered?" His voice was dripping in lust. Really, he knew that letting Yako hear him using _that_ voice would mean that she would have to succumb to his wishes in a matter of time.

He grinned when Yako merely tried to hold in a deep sigh. Yes, he definitely saw her cheeks go red.

"We still have an hour before dinner starts. Shall we have some fun?"

Neuro waited patiently for her answer—and just as he knew what she would silently say—he leered as Yako barely nodded.

* * *

><p>Yako carefully sat on her chair in the dining hall with a stinging bottom. <em>He was painfully rough—again!<em> Apparently, Neuro had done nothing but to spank and fondle her body senseless for a whole hour—that, and another thing.

_He marked me everywhere again._

Looking around and trying to assess if anyone noticed the look of pain on her face, and seeing none (aside from Neuro who was broadly and suggestively grinning at her from her right), she sighed in relief and began to feast on the food in front of her. Yukinori looked at Yako with stunned awe as she gobbled down dish upon dish of food in mere minutes. Neuro then followed, and he gorged on the food that he found the best and to his liking. Several people looked at Neuro and Yako, who seemed to be having an intimate contest between the two of them on who could finish everything on the table within half an hour.

It was a tie, it seemed.

"Eh? You guys are still eating?" Yako asked, blinking at her friends' horrified faces after she had done her fill. It only took her 20 minutes just to finish everything that was in front of her (a five-course meal), save for her friends' plates of food, of course. Neuro, on the other hand, took 17 minutes to finish everything. Mutsuki mentally (and happily) calculated how long they would finish their meal.

"Yako, some of us are not as fast of an eater as you," Kanae stated as she demurely ate her small bowl of mizutaki, trying her best not to go over the other end of the table just to teach her best friend and her best friend's fiancé some manners. _People around our table are staring at us, Yako! Try not to act like a pig._

She wouldn't actually say that. It would only be all right if Neuro were to say it to Yako, so Kanae held herself back.

"Let's change the topic, shall we?" Yukinori interjected, and the rest of the group nodded and complied, save for Neuro who ignored him for a warm cup of sake sitting next to his stash of empty plates.

"How are we going to spend a group date like this?"

Kanae blinked at her boyfriend, "Well, Yuki, we are spending time now. Besides, no one's complaining that we had a change of plans, right?"

Shinobu pointed a finger at her, "But ya were the only one who was wailing about plans going not as—gghrk!" Yukinori quickly leaned over the table to gag Shinobu with an uncooked squid.

"Kanae, forget you heard anything. Eh heh."

"Hmph."

"I don't mind it much, Kana-_nee_, I'm having fun with you guys right now—see? I even took a picture earlier!"

"Ah! Mucchan! Delete that photo! I look horrible with that face!" Kanae yelled—she didn't know that Mutsuki took a quick snapshot of her blotched face earlier and—

"Yukinori-_san_, do you drink?" Kanae heard Yako ask, and when Yukinori replied in affirmative, Kanae blinked.

"I didn't know you drink, Yuki."

"Heh. _Aniki_ and I bond together through ceremonies. And sake is always involved."

They all looked at Yukinori, speechless, except for Shinobu who raised his cup of sake and was holding back tears for some reason. "Fer th' principal!"

"For _aniki!_"

"For Hayasaka-_san_!"

"Why are we raising cups to him anyway? He's not even dead," Neuro suddenly asked, his cup not raised at all as he looked at the people he deemed as idiots—Yako included.

"Well, I guess Godai here just wantta pay respect to my _aniki_, nothing bad with that," Yukinori shrugged and he tipped his head and drank his sake. Kanae merely shook her head.

"I don't drink yet."

At this, Yako gasped, "Eh? But I thought you're drinking already. I mean, we're already 18—except for Mutsuki-_tan._" All the while, Neuro drank from his cup, completely ignoring the conversation; even so, he discreetly held Yako's hand beneath the table.

"I get dizzy easily from drinking liquor," Kanae explained.

"…Oh. Well, that's too bad. But even just a bit?" and for emphasis, Yako offered her a drink from her cup.

Kanae shook her head, "Even just a bit."

"Leave her alone if she doesn't want to drink, snail."

"Neuro, you're getting red already."

"The sake's spiked with vodka. Dunno why."

"Eh? But you drank vodka before and you survived—wait." Yako then took the sake bottle sitting next to Neuro's elbow, and just as she sniffed it, she immediately knew why Neuro suddenly became scarlet. "It's a _junmai-shu_. A full-bodied one. That, and added with vodka—not good for him. No wonder," and she squeaked as Neuro leaned and rubbed his head on her shoulder, grumbling indecencies to her ear as Yako tried to steady him in his seat. Shinobu stood up and offered Yako his help, but she refused. "I'll be fine. He just needs some rest," and she turned her attention back to a seemingly petulant and stubborn Neuro, steadying him still as she coaxed him to stand. "Come on, Neuro, let's get you to bed—"

"Heh—quite fast, kitty. We're not wed yet," and Neuro involuntarily slumped his head to her chest, muttering even more libidinous incoherencies as Yako tried to reign in her now raging blush as she quickly scanned the room for anyone who might witness their indecent position. Seeing her friends and the other people nearby were looking at them, she gasped.

"_Neuro_, come _on_ and wake up and _don't_ drool on me! Ugh. This is embarrassing…" and Mutsuki immediately handed Yako a tall glass of water; and Yako cheered. "Water to prevent hangover! Thanks, Mutsuki-_tan_. Neuro, here, drink it—no, not spit it, _drink it._ Slowly—there you go. No, don't spit it back out, dummy. Drink, drink—there. _Mou_, don't soak my yukata, you idiot—"

As Yako was too busy waking up the quite drunk Neuro, Kanae was having a wide range of not-so-decent thoughts regarding her best friend and her best friend's fiancé. _Their current position is truly misleading._

"I really think ya should take him back now if ya could," Yukinori mumbled through his mouth filled with cabbage. Yako tried to brush it off as not much of an issue, but seeing her being smothered on the chest by Neuro, it made Yukinori think of what Yako might be thinking right now.

"Neuro, at least finish down the whole glass―just a bit more... there. Done. Now, get up, off we go―come on―!" Yako stood and balanced herself and Neuro's dead weight on her weak knees. Kanae offered her some help, but Yako, once again, refused.

Yako and Neuro left after a few moments of struggling with each other's imbalance, and Kanae and the others quickly finished her food.

* * *

><p>"Neurooo... Please wake up―oh...!"<p>

Almost stumbling near the sliding doors, she steadied themselves on the wall, and she slid open the door, almost falling to the tatami mat as they entered the room. Yako carefully laid Neuro on the mat, and she arranged their futons that were side by side. Huffing and sweating, she tried her best to pull the half-asleep Neuro back on the futon, and she tucked him in.

Sighing, she stood up and looked at her work. Neuro was now tucked in the futon, almost asleep, save for his grumbling tendencies. She was sure that she heard him mumbling something about "stripping his kitten naked"―that was a confession and a glimpse of his fantasies right there.

She fought back a blush staining her cheeks.

"Neuro, you're really insatiable..."

A knock was heard on the thin wooden doors. Humming, Yako slid it open and she saw Kanae and Mutsuki.

"Is he all right?" Kanae asked, and Mutsuki took a peek inside to see Neuro sleeping soundly on the futon.

"Sleeping like a log while saying indecent things; the usual," Yako idly mumbled, shrugging, her arms crossed as she looked at Neuro's sleeping face, then back at Kanae. "I'm sorry we cut dinner short―"

"No, no. It's fine, Yako. We all had a rough day today―a night of rest will be fine for all of us. Let's start the actual group date tomorrow, okay? I heard this place is actually _Nyuto onsen_."

"It is," Yako and Mutsuki said in unison.

Kanae raised her brows, "Eh? You mean I was the only one who didn't notice?"

"You mean you didn't look at the sign earlier when we entered?" Yako asked back. "It was the reason why Yukinori-_san_ was laughing earlier."

Kanae sighed dejectedly, and her shoulders slumped, "Yeah... This place has a funny name... A hot spring house isn't usually called with the word 'nipple' attached to it."

"I guess they weren't thinking of the kids when they named this place?" Yako joked as she giggled, then clamped her mouth shut when Mutsuki glanced at her with a smile.

A shuffle of fabric and a pained grumbling was heard from the room, and Yako saw Neuro flinging away his coverlets and quietly calling out her name.

"I guess we'll be seeing you two tomorrow, then?" Kanae laughed, and she knew that Yako will willingly go to Neuro's aid in a heartbeat.

"Good night, _nee-chan!_ Take care of Neuro-_nii!_" and she waved at Yako as she and Kanae returned to their room.

Yako waved back and slid the door shut, locking it with the hook attached to a little hoop on the frame. Smiling and sitting next to Neuro, she smoothed out his hair and rearranged his blankets, and she took out a bottle of water from her backpack and drank from it. _I never even got to finish my sake... And my yukata's still wet._

Yako turned off the lights and laid down with him, snuggling him close to her and tucking her head beneath his chin as she breathed in his scent. _I can smell sake on him. Oh dear._

In the dead of the night, Yako felt being squished―Neuro's limbs were on her body again―and she slowly opened her eyes and saw her dimly-illuminated surroundings, turning over, she saw Neuro's green eyes staring back at her.

"You're awake," she mumbled gruffly, and she blindly kissed his exposed collarbone. "You got drunk tonight," and she buried her face in his partly-exposed chest.

"So I noticed," he replied just as gruffly, "was I a bad drunk?"

"Not really. Unless you count my yukata being soaked no thanks to you and your mouth."

"Wha-? What did I do?"

"You drooled on my chest."

"Oh. I think I remember something like that―or maybe that was my dream. Dunno," he groaned, and he kissed her head.

"You dreamed about me?" Now that was new. Neuro dreamed about her?

"I dreamed I was squishing my face on your breasts."

"...I don't know what to say to that―wait. That wasn't a dream, you idiot...!" she whispered harshly as she lightly bumped her fist to his chest. "That really―that really happened earlier, dummy." She knew that she probably looked like a cherry tomato this moment, and she wouldn't even know how Neuro would react―

"Well, isn't that nice," she heard him mutter, and she could hear his sadistic glee in his every word. "So? What happened next? Did I strip you in front of everyone? Because I swear I'm going to murder any man who would see you nak―"

"Whoa. Hold your temper, Mister-Possessive-Master. Nothing of that sort happened. If it had, I wouldn't even be letting you sleep with me anymore. And I know you wouldn't actually strip me naked in front of people. Sheesh," and she smiled at his barely-seen face. "Besides, you were holding my hand the whole time we were drinking, remember? It was to make sure you keep yourself in check, am I right?"

"Your sense of observation is quite amazing―for a worm."

"Hey. I'm a caterpillar, at least. Last time, you told me I evolved to a fly. What happened to that?"

"I changed my mind. You're back to being a spineless, wriggling worm."

"I can see you blankly smiling at me."

"I know."

"Hmph."

"You mad?"

"No."

"Yes, you are."

"Fine. I'm mad. Happy?"

"Aww, the little worm is asking for a raise. Shall I give it to you, I wonder?" He was playful now. His actions were being shadowed by the moonlight, and the mood shifted to something that only she and Neuro could understand.

He was beating around the bush. Well, she could play along.

"Yes, Master. Please give me my salary..."

He grinned at her willingness, and he thought that, maybe for tonight, he _could_ be a bit lenient towards her. He lightly stroked her hair, smiling a bit as he looked at her face illuminated by the moonlight. "I like that. I like that very much. Yako, what say you about me giving you your, how did you phrase it―your '_salary_', for tonight, hm?" He was now turning her on her back, with her hair now splayed in delicate wisps around her petite head, and her gaze was quite ravishing tonight―oh.

Those _lips_.

She found her way to his all-too-ready lips, kissing him softly at first as she clamped her hands to his head and back, and Neuro complied as he opened his mouth for her.

"Be grateful I'm feeling generous tonight, kitten," he whispered to her lips, and her reply was a breathy gasp and a dash of tongue to his Adam's apple, nipping on it as he chuckled. "I see that's your way of saying 'I'm grateful'?" And he grinned as he felt her nod, "Very well. You're quite submissive tonight. I like that. Hn―"

The sound of shuffling cloth muffled their ears, and Neuro hissed as he felt her nails raking and digging down his now bare back, his pale blue yukata was slipping off his shoulders as he nipped on the expanse of her neck. She was breathing heavily now―oh, how he loved _that_.

Her toes curled as she felt her yukata being slowly undone, and the feel of warm hands cupped her flesh, and the sound of him sucking on the underside of her breast was enough to make her moan and her back arch.

He felt her hand grabbing and pulling on his hair quite forcefully, and the pain mixed with heady pleasure was like ecstasy to his erratic senses.

"You've gotten curvier. Was it something you ate?" and he admired her in the dark, smiling and looking down at her appreciatively. _Her chest is at least a full cup size bigger than three months ago―a B-cup, maybe? I don't know how they call it. Her butt's gone a wee bit squishier in two week's time. Her belly's still flat despite all the food she eats. Hourglass waistline―yes..._

"Neuro...?"

"Just admiring the view, kitty," he smiled, showing his fanged teeth at her, and as he dipped his head back to the slope of her mounds, Yako could hear him humming quite contentedly, and the feel of his lips―he was smiling as he suckled on her. And she could distinctively feel the hardness of his knob touching her belly through her scantily-clad state.

Her breath hitched.

Time seemed to still itself, and only the sound of their breathing and the blind touches mattered―their bodies were kissed, marked, scratched and streaked with a reddish-pink tincture, and they were lost in mind-numbing, intoxicating heat.

A choked gasp here, a strained groan there―liquid passion flowed within them―and they did not realize when their disheveled clothes have left them.

Their bodies were strewned halfway on the mess of futons and fabric, their lips completely locked throughout―and Yako was oblivious to the piece of sash that was about to tie her―

"Eh? Neuro?" She was dazed, completely dazed, and her mind was swimming in utter pleasure. How cruel of him to stop in the middle of―

"Hush, Yako," he whispered just as huskily as he could, and he felt her shiver against his arduous touch. Raising her arms over her head, he deftly tied her clammy hands with the sash of his discarded yukata, and he stared down at her almost full nakedness.

"Oh, silk ones for tonight, eh?" he grinned at the feel of her moist entrance, nudging it lightly with his knee. "You've gone quite wet, you lewd little strumpet."

She bucked her hips quite suggestively at him, panting as she whined and begged. "Neuroo―"

He chuckled, tapping her lips twice with his middle finger, "There, there, kitty. The fun hasn't even started yet! How about we... have a little private bath to ourselves?"

* * *

><p>The sloshing of water could be heard, and the faint sound of feet patting along the lined, stoned floors was heard. "Isn't this illegal?" Yako doubtfully asked as she looked around the silent pool of water. It was an open hot spring, and should they be bathing in the day, they could have an overview of the mountains and fog surrounding them. The water in the hot springs was a pure milk white hue. The air was warm and steamy.<p>

"I just put up a 'Closed' sign in front. That's not against the law, isn't it? Besides, we haven't been in the hot springs since that stupid creep incident," he scowled, and as soon as he dipped his barely-covered self in the water, he sighed, leaning over the smooth-stoned edges as he looked smugly at her. "Join me, Yako," and as though emphasizing his point―or maybe he want to make her make feel embarrassed than she already was―he lazily laid his arms on the stoned edges, and slowly beckoned her suggestively with his middle finger, his emerald eyes and his fanged teeth gleaming at her bashfulness, mischief and impishness evident on his countenance.

With a deep sigh, she gave in, and slowly dipped her naked self in the waters; no towels were allowed in the waters.

"You're clearly two feet away from me, come closer."

She did as he was told, albeit slowly at first. "The water's too warm. I'll stay here," she was wading about, with only her neck and face visible above the water. She wasn't sure what he was planning to do to her, but she had a hunch.

"Nonsense," he said, his face still showing his sly thoughts, "you're still far from me. Come." And she went closer over to him, most of her body still concealed by the waters as she waded towards him. She came up in front of him, her brown eyes wide and full of life, and she looked up to him in that half-curious, half-expectant gaze of hers, and Neuro laughed. "Closer, kitten," and he crooned as she went even closer to him, and wrapped her arms around him, their chests touching―and he saw Yako blush tenfold.

"Like this?" she asked, feeling both bashful and brazen at the same time.

"Much better," he drawled lazily, wrapping his arms around her back and neck loosely, humming as he looked at her with a proud gaze, brushing away the damp strands of hair away from her petite face as he did so.

She nuzzled him, almost purring, "This is nice... quite peaceful, too."

"And warm. Don't forget warm."

She giggled, and as they moved just the slightest, the sound of sloshing waters met their ears. "Hey, Neuro. Why couldn't we just wait in the morning?"

"And let the spacious pool of warm water be filled with boisterous dickheads? Bah! I wouldn't have any of that. Besides, this is a perfect and quiet place and time to meditate on things, right?"

"What things?"

"I dunno. Planning on our future? What type of marriage you would prefer, how long we will live, how many kids you want, where we will live (I want to live in a warm place, if we could), or if you want pets in the house (I prefer parrots)―things like that."

She looked at him with her shining honey-brown eyes, a smile graced her features, and she laughed awkwardly, though Neuro could never deny the dust of pink on her dewy cheeks, and it was not from the steam of the hot springs, either. She looked away, smiling broadly still, even as she held his upper arms and tried to stifle her smile that was getting quite wider as seconds passed, "Those―those are quite some things you're thinking about." And she bit her lips, eyes roving about at anywhere but Neuro. Her ears were tinged pink, she was sure.

"Of course," he said, looking very proud and amused at her reaction, and he brushed another stray strand of hair from her face, "you _will_ be my wife, after all. I should think of such things for our plans ahead."

Yako nodded shyly, still not meeting his gaze, and she buried her face to his collarbone, humming and smiling and almost purring as she held him close.

The sound of feet patting along the wooden floors―

Neuro and Yako immediately took their bags and the towels that were on the edge of the pool and slowly immersed themselves at the bottom of the white waters, making sure there were little to no ripples in sight as they hid.

Holding in their breath, they peeked through the milky waves, and saw the wavy reflection of the waning moon.

Puffing their cheeks as they hold their breath, Neuro grabbed the bag that was in Yako's hand and took it in his own, slinging it to his arm as he held her from behind. He cupped her mouth closed, so as to not let any bubbles float to the surface. A moving flash of light was faintly hovering on the surface, and Neuro was sure that Yako would give in to the lack of air in her lungs and―

―he mentally cursed. _If this keeps up...!_

He could faintly hear his ears popping, and just as he was about to swam to the surface and to let Yako breathe, the flash of light was gone.

Slowly rising to the surface, he quickly took a glance at his surroundings, and when he realized the coast was clear, he let Yako up―

―and she took in a huge gasp of precious air, coughing as she held on to him. "Is―is he gone?"

"It's all right. We're fine now," he assured her, patting her back as he himself took deep lungfuls of air. "Let's dry ourselves and get inside."

* * *

><p>Once they safely returned to their room, Yako immediately turned on the lights and rummaged through their bags, heaving a sigh of relief when everything was still in place, even Neuro's little eyebugs were still working.<p>

"Our rings and bracelets are still here."

Neuro took a dry towel from the closet, his breathing still a bit ragged as he spoke, "How about your choker?"

"Still here. But I don't know if it's working anymore... Same for my hair clips..."

Neuro wordlessly went over to his slacks that were hung by the sliding doors, and took out his earpiece and placed it on his ear. "Turn all of them on."

She did as so, and Neuro took out his phone from his back pocket, tapped a few buttons and looked at her. "Talk."

"Um, hello?"

"Okay. Hair clips still work. Try walking around with the choker on," he ordered, his eyes still locked on his phone. She did as so, and he nodded. "Choker and bracelets still work. They're all clear."

And he could hear her sigh in relief.

"I thought I broke them."

"You'll need to do more than that if you want to make them as useless as your brain―"

"―hey―"

"Heh."

* * *

><p>Their group date went rather surprisingly well, despite the difficulties along the way. Yukinori and Kanae managed to find out more about each other's habits and interests, Shinobu got to know more about Mutsuki and her eternal passion for all sorts of tea, and Neuro managed to get all sorts of pictures of Yako while she was sleeping in her barely-tied yukata this morning. Apparently, he took extra effort to wake up earlier than usual, just to get a dozen pictures of her sleeping. He had never gotten the chance to do so before.<p>

He saved them all in a private album in his phone, and forwarded it to his e-mail.

The hot springs they enjoyed, though the morning baths separated the women and the men sections, the group got to know more about each other—and their physical flaws.

Yako didn't have a single bit of excuse to cover up for the hickeys and red streaks of scratch marks littered all over her belly, breasts, thighs and buttocks, though—and Kanae was squealing the whole time they were in the pool. And Neuro, for the most part, seemed to be quite at ease upon hearing Yako's shrieks of horror from the other side of the hot springs—that, and the surge of satisfaction he felt when he saw the looks on Yukinori and Shinobu's faces upon seeing Neuro's equally marked and scratched body. The tell-tale signs of Neuro's arms and back being raked by Yako's nails were quite satisfying for his tastes—for him, it just showed how possessive she was of him, albeit she was doing her possessive actions unconsciously. The large bite marks she left on his neck were a nice touch, too, might he add, two of them were now bruising—and he licked his lips at the thought of letting Yako do that to him again.

Yukinori and Shinobu were dumbly speechless of him, to say the least.

Neuro inwardly grinned. _Great job, kitten._

* * *

><p>Returning from their extended bonding proved to be quite tiring, for once they parted ways at Shibuya station, Yako could already feel her legs becoming like lead as she walked.<p>

"Tired, piggy?"

"Kind of," she muttered sluggishly, her back and arms now stooping halfway to the concrete as they walked their way home. And Neuro, silently observing her from his left, hummed as he had an idea.

He took the bags that were on her back and slung them on his own, and Yako, feeling quite surprised at the sudden act of chivalry, perked up. And just as she was about to ask him what was happening to his sanity, she felt herself being lifted up on her stomach; and before she knew it, she was now hoisted on Neuro's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Her eye twitched as she looked at the upside-down people around them, even more so when she looked at the sight of his slightly swaying butt.

"You know, I've had pictured this chivalrous act of yours quite differently from what you're doing now," grumbled Yako, and Neuro only slapped her butt.

"Nonsense. I'm doing this like how I've always been—gentlemanly and chivalrous," and she could feel him kissing her still sore bottom.

It was a good thing she was in jeans, she supposed.

~!~!

Neuro opened the door to the Katsuragi abode with the key that Seiichi had given to him, and placing Yako safely on the still ground so she could recover her swaying sense of sight, he hummed as he opened the door, chirping out a lively 'We're home!' as they took off their shoes. What the two of them noticed was an extra pair of shoes lying by the doorway. Haruka wouldn't own such a thing as high-heeled stilettos and such—unless she recently had a fetish for such things, but—

"Oh, welcome home, you two! I take it you had a nice trip?" greeted Haruka happily, who was covered in soot and sweat. The stench of smoke could be smelled from her. And they could only assume that Haruka was trying to 'cook' something out of inorganic materials again.

"Hello, Mother," Yako greeted, and she wasted no time in asking, "do we have a guest?"

Haruka smiled, "Indeed we do. She said she's a god friend of yours. She's in the living room, by the way." And she went away, returning to he horrible, who-knows-what-this-time concoction in the smoke-filled kitchen.

Yako quizzically looked at Neuro, and he only shrugged.

"If it's one of your yappy female friends from school, then I'm out of that," and he hauled the bags on his back. "I'll just bring these upstairs, then I'll go to you," and he patted her head with a sly smile.

Beaming at his rare act of kindness, she watched his retreating back, and she went to the living room to see who this 'friend' was. As far as Yako knew, she never had any real female friends aside from Kanae and Mutsuki.

All Yako saw was the back profile when she peeked in the parlor, but the hair of the guest looked quite familiar and—

A wave of blond hair lightly swayed, and Yako was suddenly stuck in place as the woman faced her with a sweet smile.

"Oh, Katsuragi-_chan_, is it? Nice to see you again!" and the woman stood up from the couch and inched to her the slightest, facing Yako in her shining, luxurious beauty and glory.

The blood drained from Yako's face.

"Aizawa Aya?"

* * *

><p>Dang. Seventeen pages this chapter! I'm so happeh~ :3<p> 


	20. Confidere

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty: Confidere <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** You know how hard it is to do 13-20 pages of a chapter in a fanfic and all you get are two to three reviews in a span of a month? I feel like I'm doing something wrong here. I see people with crappy writing with only two to three pages per chapter yet they get ten to thirty reviews within the first two hours of posting. I wonder why is that...? I've been wondering if something bad happened to my reviewers or something. Long A/N at the end will be long.

* * *

><p>Neuro smiled as he unpacked the contents of their baggage back to their proper places—including Yako's unused underwear.<p>

They have reached a new stage in their relationship, and he only realized it now; not to mention, something in him was changing—he just wasn't sure what that something was.

Humming a random tune, he emptied all their bags, placed the unused apparel in their proper places, and placed the used apparel in the hamper.

Nothing was out of place since they left—his memory had always been useful at times like these—everything was in perfect order. Good.

He really couldn't remember much after his apparent blackout with the four spiked bottles of sake that he had back in the hot springs, but he decided it was worth it if it meant making Yako almost lose her control with the two bottles of vodka and sake she consumed—_she was literally dancing all over me last night, naked; not that I minded it at all!_—and who was he to let such a delicious opportunity pass? Thinking about the new toys he would try out on her were becoming much of a peek on the dozens of fantasies he would like to make reality of—

Yako's bedroom door opened, and in came Yako, red-faced and shaking as she slammed the door shut.

Neuro thought it was something about her mother again, but when he saw her eyes almost water and her face scrunched in pain, his aura completely shifted.

"What happened?" and he dropped his shirt to the bed and went over to her, his thin eyebrows drawn together and onyx-emerald eyes ablaze. She clammed up and shook her head, avoiding his stern gaze. His hands were gripping her arms quite forcefully, and he was shaking her, "Tell me, Yako."

She almost whined from his grip, and with a trembling voice, she looked at him. "Aizawa is downstairs. She wants to talk to you."

* * *

><p>~!~!<br>Never had he thought of such a thing would occur in this house—this house that he considered his only sanctuary.

Sitting across a stiff-backed and apathetic Neuro was a coyly smiling and elegant-looking Aizawa Aya, looking quite confident as always.

"What do you want?" Neuro asked, no need to be dillydallying on this matter. He wanted to know just what was it that Aya said that made Yako almost cry. Hell, he didn't make her cry even once during the years he had spent with her!

He gritted his teeth.

"I wanted to talk to you, Neuro-_san_," she said sweetly, smiling in complete elegance befitting of her beauty, yet with Neuro's response, it would have been as if he almost spat at her face.

"You don't say? I thought you dropped by because you wanted to lick Yako's feet with your snake-like tongue." A blank face. A complete show of his fanged teeth.

He was mad. Seething mad—

"Haha! I see you have a nice sense of humor. No wonder Katsuragi-_chan_ chose you."

—though Aya would have none of it; she was acting obliviously like an unknowing ant about to be squished by a human.

He cocked his head to one side, dark green eyes scrutinizing her, "I believe I wasn't trying to be funny."

Aya lifted one finely-trimmed brow, a sly little simper painted on her matte-pink lips, "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were making a joke! You are an amusing man."

"Don't play flirt with me, Seductress. It's not working," he was getting close to getting a cane just to shove it at something—or someone.

Her perfectly-manicured hands and feet swayed at his direction, and she leaned towards him just the slightest as she rested her elbow on her knee and poised the back of her hand on her dainty chin, giving him an implicit view of her ample cleavage from the strapless, black cocktail dress she wore.

The effect it had on Neuro was not what Aya expected, however.

He grimaced.

She frowned.

Leaning away and straightening her back was the best way to regain Neuro's begrudging attention on her, she noticed. Her lips thinned. "I see you're not easy to be swayed. Most men I encounter back in Germany are following my every move once I give them a glimpse of the female anatomy."

His eyebrow arched, and he crossed his arms, "_Most_. Some, however, would like to stay with their other halves no matter what lecherous devices some temptresses—like you—would do."

Aya hummed, and tilted her chin a bit in that elegant way of hers. She seemed to be a well-bred woman by the looks of it, Neuro thought. _Only, she has disgustingly rotten insides._

She graced him a glimmer of her pearly teeth, "Other half, you say? From those words alone, I could tell that you love her very much—"

"Not that I would say it to you directly for the heck of it, but yes, I do."

Aya stopped mid-sentence, and in the strained silence of the room, she breathed slowly as she looked at Neuro's dead serious face.

Her mouth fell open, her lips formed in a little circle, and her golden-brown eyes became a bit solemn as she looked away from him. "Oh... I see—I suppose it's all right for me to assume I'm intruding on you two right now?" and she looked downhearted all of a sudden as Neuro merely huffed and rolled his eyes at her.

His impenetrable stance still stood, his posture demanded superiority, and he would bow to no one, not even to a woman so rudely crying in front of him. At least, he thought she was crying. He saw a bit of a tear just before she looked away.

He snorted and he himself looked away, and yet even so, he looked smug, and he glanced at the doorway, and there he could see a small tuft of light, yellow-orange hair.

He smirked, and he faced Aya with a cocky air. "This conversation is over. You can return home now."

Aya's gaze drifted back to him, and her previously determined look returned tenfold. "Before I go back home, I just want to say, 'we are meant to be with one another—for we are alone in this world.' You and I, we—we have no one to call our family. You grew up with no parents to call to, growing up in an empty home and—"

Neuro huffed, looking annoyed and getting close to growling, "Are you finished now? I still have more important things to do than to listen to your sappy talk."

Aya sniffled and wiped a lone tear that had crept from her eye; Neuro was sure that that was a crocodile's tear. "I—I see. I'm sorry to have kept you. Neuro-_san_—"

"Don't call me by my name. I never gave you permission to do so."

She paused, then nodded solemnly, "I will take my leave, but before that, I'll—" Aya nervously rubbed her arm, her eyes drifting here and there, not looking at him directly, "I should at least take a compensation for the trouble I've caused?"

Neuro tilted his chin the slightest, his green eyes grew a bit brighter. His interest was piqued, and he tilted his head. "Compensation?" He didn't know what she was thinking judging from her quick shift of body language.

Aya sadly smiled, and she moistened her lipstick-dyed lips as she languidly stood and went over to him, silently observing him with her warm brown eyes that strangely reminded Neuro of Yako.

He quickly squashed that thought. _Don't compare Yako to this thing._

Aya bended and leaned towards him, her face inching close to his—and on instinct, he pulled away, his emerald-onyx eyes wide with apprehension.

"Nougami-_san_, please take this as an apology for disturbing you and Katsuragi-_chan_."

With a small smile of her own, and with a glimmer in her eyes, she slowly neared her lips to his—

—only to be carelessly pushed away towards the coffee table.

The harsh sound of wood colliding on the floor and on Aya's bones was apparent, and Yako, who had been hiding from the doorway the whole time, was startled, and she jolted.

"_Is everything all right?_" called Haruka from the smoke-filled kitchen—and Yako noiselessly rushed over to where her mother was. Yako didn't know what just happened in the living room, as she had only been listening.

"What was that for?" snarled Neuro, who was quite alarmed at what could have happened—and in the house of his own fiancée, too!—suddenly stood up and growled at her as he wiped his lips roughly, suddenly disgusted at the mere sight of Aya.

She hissed and gasped as she looked up at him, "Nougami-_san_, what are you—"

"You have overstayed your welcome," he spat, "get out before I whip you to death." And he pointed his middle finger to the door, his fanged teeth gleaming and his feral green eyes glaring daggers at her.

Muttering a curse—_schiße_—Aya touched her now marred cheek, as it had hit the table, and wobbled to stand, and she weakly made her way to the door, limping. With one last look at Neuro's back, she mustered a harsh breath.

"I won't give up on you, Nougami-_san_. I invested so much time in finding you after all these years—Katsuragi-_chan_ will definitely be a worthy competition."

She winced as she steadied herself on the door jamb, and from the corner of her eye, she saw Yako grimly looking at her from the kitchen.

Aya merely bowed and smiled, and she held her head high as she went to the foyer and retrieved her shoes; and she made a not-so-graceful exit as she almost stumbled on her way out of the door.

As soon as the door shut closed, Yako immediately ran back to the living room only to see a slightly shaking Neuro standing in front of the upturned coffee table—quite not like him, she mused—and her eyes fell on the toppled furniture. She hurriedly tried to put it back on its proper place, but was beaten to it by a deathly silent Neuro.

"...Neuro?"

Even as she crept closer to him and touched his back, he stayed silent—and when Yako touched his arm, he pushed her away.

"Neur—"

He hastily went away from her, his head bowed throughout, and he made his way upstairs.

Yako quickly followed him as he went to the bathroom, and there, she found him furiously brushing his teeth until she could see his gums bleeding.

She called out his name and tried to stop him, but he paid her no heed until the bristles of his toothbrush turned completely reddish-pink, and he rinsed his mouth with tap water, and idly watched as the sink was dyed pink, and he repeated the process four times, until he saw the water returned to its colorless state. Huffing as he braced himself on the rounded corners of the sink, he idly rinsed his toothbrush and returned it to the little mug-shaped container on the rack.

All the while, he was quite aware of Yako's strong hold on the hems of his turtleneck shirt.

Sighing, he looked at her through the mirror, and saw that she looked worried. Pursing his lips, he then bowed and muttered something under his breath—

—and promptly held Yako the moment he turned around.

He said nothing at all even as Yako told him to stop suffocating her poor lungs, Neuro merely bended over to her height and nuzzled his face to her neck and held her even tighter, gripping her head and her back in his seemingly unrelenting hold.

Yako returned the favor with just as firm of a hold as he had.

And they stayed like that for a few moments—she knew something was bothering him. Yako mentally blamed Aya.

Neuro grunted as he held her tighter to his torso, and at the back of his mind, a distant and unwanted memory slowly resurfaced—one that he tried to block time and time again.

"_Father, who is she?_"  
>"<em>Oh, she is a special friend of mine.<em>"  
>"<em>Mother knows?<em>"  
>"<em>No, child. Your mother doesn't know. And she musn't know even now. Don't tell her you met her.<em>"  
>"<em>Why? Is she a bad person?<em>"

Neuro closed his eyes and kissed Yako on the forehead, and he held her tight once more.

All the while, Yako wondered.

"_No. She is not bad. She is someone who gives me something that your mother can't give me._"  
>"<em>May I know what this something is?<em>"

Neuro kissed Yako on the lips, and he pushed those unwanted memories away.

"_You'll know it someday when you grow up._"

As he moaned in her mouth, a lone thought passed his mind.

_I'll never be like him._

* * *

><p>Yako was sure that Neuro's encounter with Aya yesterday was something that struck a nerve within him.<p>

She eyed Neuro's back as the day's lesson wore on, the teacher's drone on teaching things lost on Yako's hearing. She could see Neuro sighing, as evidenced by the deep rising and falling of his ribcage. Her fingers itched to run her hand along the expanse of his broad back, and she bit her lip as she, instead, ran her mechanical pencil down his spine.

And as she expected, he slightly twitched in his seat, and he glanced at her, and he smirked—

—though for some unknown reason, Yako could sense that something was not right in those jade eyes that she so loved.

Yako talked privately to Kanae about the matter right before their lunch, and Kanae told her to take a step back and "observe him more carefully"—Yako agreed, though it was hard for her to follow her best friend's advice if Neuro's strange actions were eating her out.

During their lunch, Neuro was as possessive on her as usual—nothing new there—holding her in his arms like there's no tomorrow, and Kanae saw no change in him that would warrant Yako's worry.

Yako on the other hand, would know that something was wrong with her fiancé, and throughout the whole time they were eating, she would draw small circles on the back of his palm, just to soothe him. Physical intimacy seemed to be Neuro's therapy, Yako observed.

When asked by Kanae if he and Yako were having problems in their relationship lately, Neuro answered in a swift "no" and promptly hugged Yako even tighter. Kanae merely smiled and shrugged apologetically at Neuro, and mouthed a silent "You see?" at Yako.

Yako nodded and sighed in return and let herself be assured that everything was all right.

* * *

><p>Haruka hummed as she helped Miwako with the house cleaning, and often joked about Ishigaki Jun's gift to the household (as he had promised before)—a collection of animé nendroids. Seiichi had decided to display the little things and put them as they were out of the package and placed them on a little table near the couch in the living room; Haruka agreed, and every now and then, she would silently coo on how cute the little plastic figures were, and she would clean them herself when she had the time.<p>

What she discovered as she was vacuuming the carpet was a strange little dent on the coffee table. Haruka may not have a photographic memory, but she was sure that the table was perfectly fine until now.

It took her a while to piece things together, but she had always trust her maternal instincts.

Huffing, she took out her phone from her pocket and texted her daughter.

* * *

><p>"I dunno why she texted me," mumbled Yako to Neuro, who was too busy glaring at Yako's ice cream to care about her recent bout of whines.<p>

"Maybe she found out about your latest episode of gorging on your house's food supply."

"You contributed to that 'gorging', if you know. And don't glare at my chocolate sundae. If you want one, just order one."

"Like hell I would. It's cold."

Yako pouted and ordered a plate of fries for Neuro, to which he repaid by eating all of them (along with the wafers on her sundae) in a heartbeat. She let him eat it without a fuss, for once.

"Hey, Neuro. Why are you acting uptight lately? Is something the matter?"

He arched an eyebrow at her, and he looked hesitant to answer her. A lone touch of her hand on his was what it took to reply to her question, though.

Her engagement ring seemed to be looking straight to his soul.

"I'll talk about it with you later, when no one's around us," and he looked at a couple sitting near their table, who looked quite occupied at eavesdropping at other people's conversations.

Yako sighed and she smiled at Neuro instead, opting to merely nod and trust him in his words.

He never once lied to her, after all.

* * *

><p>Dinner at the Katsuragi house was an intimate affair, as Neuro had always dubbed in his mind, and tonight was no different.<p>

Neuro idly listened on about the family's discussions—the monthly bills and insurances, the latest news about their neighbors, the local and world news, politics and the like. He loved listening to new information, and if he liked a piece of news very much, he would file them in his mind for future reference.

He drank his glass of aloe vera juice—a drink he was quite fond of next to black coffee—and watched Yako animatedly flailing her arms about the latest discovery on edible things.

Her parents seemed to only laugh nervously.

Neuro smirked. _There goes another month's earnings on that edible thing alone._

As Neuro ate on a piece of abalone on his bowl, he heard Seiichi clear his throat and directed his attention towards him.

"Neuro, my boy. I see that everyday, you are growing to be a fine young man (as I have expected) for my daughter—and you have proven to us time and again that you are worthy of my child's affection. I just want you to know that should there come a time that anything might happen to her mother and I—"

Yako gasped, "Father—!" yet Seiichi merely held up a palm, and she stopped and let her father continue.

"Should anything happen to me and Haruka, I trust that you will continue to protect our daughter as you have always done, yes?"

In response, Neuro calmly smiled, and he closed his eyes as he bowed, his palms resting perpendicular on his lap as he did so; and when he looked at Yako's parents once more, he was met with gazes and nods of approval—Yako herself couldn't contain her wide grin.

"I will protect her even if it will cost me my life."

Seiichi nodded gravely and took in a deep breath as he patted Neuro stiffly on his shoulder. "I see you will make a great husband for my child. Treat her well—until then, she is still in our care."

"Yes."

Mother and daughter looked at each other comically, and Haruka laughed. "Oh, Dear! Don't push the children into marriage yet! They are still students! They need to finish their studies first before anything else," she gleefully said, and Yako bit her lip as she looked at Neuro's quite content expression. He looked very much at home, and it was showing more than ever now that her parents have their blessing on the still-distant wedding day.

"Why, yes, of course! Education first before the wedding bells! I take it that Neuro here will be in the police force in the future? Since you are quite adept at memorizing things! Photographic memory, isn't it? ...Ah, yes. The police would be clamoring at your feet once you graduate—Detective Sasazuka told me so. He seems zealous on making you a part of the team in the future!"

Neuro and Yako, who haven't heard of that news until now, looked at Seiichi quizzically. "He is?" they asked in perfect unison.

"Why, yes!" Haruka piped, "Neuro would be an excellent choice in the police department! With all the stressful task of remembering vital testimonies of suspects and witnesses and evidences and all, you'll have no problem in dealing with it!"

"Mother, you're inflating his ego..."

"No, Yako. I'm not. I'm just telling the truth that he can handle whatever job it is that he will take!"

Yako's eye twitched as she looked at a very pleased Neuro, "How did the conversation end up like this..."

Neuro chuckled at her.

"Oh, by the way, Yako. Did you happen to know anything about the coffee table? It had a dent and it was in perfect condition the last time I cleaned it. It was the reason why I texted you earlier," and Haruka chewed on her pickled radish.

Yako was about to explain the situation when Neuro deftly yet meekly raised his hand and smiled at Haruka. "Oh, I know what happened to it. The blond girl tripped on the table while she was standing up to leave. It was reckless and clumsy, I know—such an ill-mannered specimen, she is. She didn't even bother to say goodbye to Yako, and to top it off, she ruined one of the furniture in this house!"

Haruka's face scrunched, "You saw her leave?"

"I was near the bottom of the stairs when I saw her leave. She was limping when she got out of the door; I thought Yako attended to her. Yako, you didn't see her leave?" and he turned to her, his eyes wide and bright as he slightly tilted his head.

She pursed her lips and silently shook her head as she looked at him bewilderedly. _What are you planning? Are you trying to save face?_

Neuro heaved a sigh and shrugged, "See? She didn't see her on her way out. That's just rude."

"Yako, why did you go the kitchen, anyway? I mean, you left her there," Haruka said.

Yako blinked, her mind still reeling from the way Neuro was acting, "I was planning on giving her a juice or something since she told me she didn't eat while she was waiting for me."

"Oh, well, yes, she did say something like that. But I must say, how did you meet her? A foreign student in your school, maybe?"

Yako quickly glanced at Neuro, and she could see him shrugging. She discreetly nodded, "Yeah, kind of... I don't really know her that well and—Mother? Please, the next time someone comes over here stating I'm their good friend, please contact me first. The only ones I consider my friends are Kanae-_chan_, Mutsuki-_tan_, Godai-_san_ and Yukinori-_san_. They're my only trusted friends whom I'll let in this house," and she looked at her mother with an awkward smile.

"Hey, how about me?"

"Ugh. Neuro, you're not in the friendzone. You're my fiancé and that's hardly a friendzoned-stage and... Don't creep your face on me like that!"

"What? I thought you like that—"

"Don't do it in front of my parents, dummy! ...Gah! Don't hug me!"

As their daughter and their future son-in-law went on bickering and playing like the young couple that they are, Haruka and Seiichi silently watched.

Haruka smiled and whispered to her husband, "...I must say, this is the first time I've seen him get all possessive on her, Dear. And he's getting bold on his advances to her lately."

"He seems to be holding back, I see. I know he is—I've experienced that too when I was with you—"

"Oh, Seiichi!"

At this point, Yako and Neuro have stopped fumbling and bickering with each other—she had surrendered and let him hug her with all his might—and watched as the Katsuragi couple get flushed and flustered while whispering barely audible things.

Neuro and Yako's eye twitched at the quite disturbing display.

There's nothing more disturbing than seeing one's parents so shamelessly proclaiming their love in a very nauseating manner, they thought in unison.

* * *

><p>"That was <em>so humiliating. I think I need to burn my eyes."<em>

"Shall I help you with that?"

"...Where and when did you get a lighter...? You know what, never mind. I'll just brush my teeth."

"Are you sure you don't want me helping you with your eye-burning problem?"

"...I'm good. And don't smile at me like that. Sheesh," and Yako went to the washroom, leaving Neuro alone in her room.

He smiled at her retreating back still, his eyes trailing and devouring the sight of her slightly swaying hips and her pert bum. Her shorts were too skimpy for this cold and windy season, and he was thankful that there were no other frequent guests in the house aside from him—no other man aside from him (and her father, might he add) would see her in such an outfit. Her orange turtleneck sweater was a nice touch too, that, and added the fact that it concealed the love bites that he had given her on their 'group night-out'. From the bedroom door, he could see her brushing her teeth with her bubblegum-flavored toothpaste; she seemed to be the only one in the house who was using it, it seemed. He had always brought his own toothpaste every time he visited her, so he wouldn't have to use the household's supplies—a peppermint-flavored one had always been his choice, he liked the aftertaste of cool heat in his mouth every time he finished brushing his teeth.

He eyed the way she brushed her teeth, the way that her bottom would slightly stick out and jiggle from the force of her moving wrist that held her pink toothbrush, the way that even her chest would slightly waggle through her clothes—she took off her bra before dinner, apparently.

He grinned, and Yako seemed to notice that he was stealthily ogling at her; she looked at him with her foam-filled mouth, and she hastily looked away the moment she saw his black-green eyes—and he didn't fail to see the tinge of pink staining her cheeks.

He waited for her to finish her business, and when she did, she returned and pouted at him, closing her door as she did so.

"You didn't have to stare at me so much. Take a picture of me. It lasts longer."

And Neuro quickly did as he was told, fishing out his phone and taking a picture of her in a heartbeat.

"That was meant to be a sarcastic comment!"

"Oh? I didn't know that. I thought you were serious. Did you know that your pert ass jiggles when you brush your teeth?"

At this, she rolled her eyes and plopped down next to him, pouting as she laid on her stomach, "Pervert."

"But you like my perverted side. The results of your spanking sessions told me so."

She went beet red, speechless, and she gasped as he rolled on her, squishing her flat on the mattress.

He went silent as he slowly felt her hands with his own, closing his eyes as he took in the smell of her strawberry-scented hair and bubblegum-breath, and, barely holding back, he growled and lightly nipped on her ear, causing Yako to groan and wriggle beneath his weight.

He lifted himself up and let her turn her back on the bed, and he happily squished on her heaving form once again.

"N-Neurooo—"

He ignored her, and he silently crept his arms around her head and back, snuggling his head on her neck as he did so. "So warm..."

And Yako gave in and sighed, and she returned the gesture just as apt, moaning when she felt his hand snaking its way beneath her clothes.

"Are the marks gone?" he whispered to her ear, and he hummed when he heard her laugh instead. "What's so funny?" and he pinched her cheek roughly.

"Ow—they're not gone yet, of course! You bit me hard, remember? It'll take four days to disappear quickly—I need a concealer for that."

"But you bit me hard, too. And I'm not planning on hiding it."

"That's because you have a collar on your uniform."

"Feh. I just wanted to revel at the looks on the people's faces when they see this on PE day," and he took off his turtleneck and revealed to her the damage that Yako caused on his body. He felt a rush of pride upon seeing her eyes roam on his torso. "I happen to like what you did to me that night—it was lecherous of you. And I must say," he dipped his head to her ear, blew on it, and huskily whispered, "it was very, _very_ arousing. The sight of your naked self so promiscuously, so _wantonly_ dancing on top of me was truly a scene to behold. I didn't know you had it in you, strumpet." He wistfully sighed in her ear, grinning when he saw her close her eyes and felt her shiver in his touch, "Where did you learn how to dance like that?"

"On instinct," she quickly mumbled breathlessly, turning her head away from him as he grinned.

"On instinct, you say? Hm... The female mind is quite something, if that's the case. Or maybe that's just you," and he trailed her reddening ear once more, knowing fully well that she liked it every time he whispered to her. "Shall you show me again your dance? I didn't quite see it clearly that night. The room was dark."

"Then how did you know I danced on top of you?" she was gasping out her every word, her breathing becoming heavier and heavier as seconds ticked by. His voice was melting her ears and he knew it...!

"The moonlight helped me see a bit of that sensual body of yours."

_Did he just call me sensual? I must be becoming deaf._

"Shall I make you wet?"

"Eh—?"

With swift hands, he deftly touched her chest through her clothes.

"A bit of stimulation should suffice. Your body _is_ quite sensitive and responsive to my lightest touch. I like that aspect of yours."

"Th-that's because I've—ah—gotten used to your touches so much that my body has become quite—hn—responsive to you as you say."

He hummed, and looked as though he was thinking something of utmost importance, and all the while, he squeezed on her flesh like he was kneading on the softest dough.

"Neuro, don't squeeze them too har—ah..." and she felt him tweak her traitorous nubs, and her back arched.

"You really are a masochist. Getting aroused from pulling on your nipples? I should invest money on some clamps next time."

"Eh? Not the rough kind!"

"Oh? Still in the mood to make such a request? Very well then, a milder kind it is. Or would you rather have a clothespin for starters?"

"No."

He pouted, "Fine. Beginner's clamps for you, then. The tweezer-type with suction cups."

"You'll use them on me?"

"You look expectant all of a sudden. But yes, I'll be using them on you of course. Who else would I use them on?"

She pouted, but gasped when his hands kneaded her harder, often slapping the side of each breast softly as he went on, and without thinking, her hands flew over to his, her digits shaking over his knuckles as he fondled her with no signs of stopping. "Don't stop please," she begged, and her eyes glassed over when she saw him bare his teeth at her in that feral smirk of his.

"I don't intend to," he said proudly, grunting as he felt her hips bucking towards his, "but before we go any further, I just want to tell you something that might..." he paused, unsure of what to say next, "upset you." He didn't know where to start—he just knew that he _had_ to say something about the incident yesterday or he'll go insane.

He was not the type to keep secrets from her, after all.

"...Way to kill the mood, Neuro." She sighed dejectedly, "What is it? Is this about our earlier talk in the ice cream shop?"

There was no turning back once he said it, was there?

He turned away from her now calculating gaze. He didn't know what to say, or how to say it, for once, as he had never experienced what it was like to feel such a thing as—

—heck, he didn't even _know_ what he should feel about the situation at hand!

Neuro sighed, and his previously vigorous touch on Yako's bosom slowly turned lax, opting to return to his rare, feather-light touches instead—it was his only way to calm himself right now, his only assurance that Yako won't be freaking out once he spilled the beans.

"The blonde kissed me yesterday." There. He said it—and he was, dare he say it, _afraid_ to face her the moment he let those words slip out.

At first, there was nothing aside from the initial and tense silence from her, that much he knew; it was like the eerie, ominous calm before the impending storm—

"She _what?_"

—or in Neuro's case, it was the start of the impending apocalyptic doom.

"Don't get mad—it was on the lips and—"

"She fucking _what?_"

Neuro froze on top of her.

And a distant memory of a voice rang loud and clear in his now cold ears—a voice that he had almost forgotten years ago. A piece of advice that his father had left him shortly before he went to Japan.

_Never make a woman mad, for she could be much fiercer and much more murderous than the mightiest and scariest demon of hell if ever enraged. Be wary of the wrath of the Woman._

* * *

><p>A series of loud knocks rammed through the entrance of Neuro's front door, followed by the angry and high-pitched voice of one fuming Katsuragi Yako.<p>

"Aomi-_san!_ Aomi-_san!_ 'Tch... Darn it. Neuro, give me your key or I swear I'll smash your door open with my fist!"

He held in his breath as he himself stiffly opened the door for Yako. He idly noted the time of the night, and he was sure that some of the neighbors were now causing a ruckus in their homes from the loudness and coarseness of Yako's language—from afar, he could hear a couple of dogs barking.

It was already nine o'clock when they left the Katsuragi abode, and they reached his house by nine forty-five. Her initial excuse to leave her parents was that she needed Neuro to tutor her on their upcoming quiz tomorrow, and his materials on teaching her were in his house; apparently, they quickly bought it—that was how much they trusted the green-eyed blond with regards to their daughter.

Though her real reason for leaving tonight was to come over to his house to talk to Zera.

Neuro put his keys back to his jeans' pocket just as stiffly as he took them out.

_More like she'll yell and drop a nuclear bomb at Zera by the way this is going._

Earlier, Neuro had spilled to Yako everything that had been bothering him lately—Aya's surprised apology 'gift' in a form of a kiss (her current and main reason of anger), Neuro's haunting memory of his father's affair with a woman during the time he was three years old, Neuro's words of swearing to Yako that he'll never become anything like his father, and Neuro's speculation that Zera had a role in blabbing to Aya what Yako's home address was. Yako was initially receptive, but the moment she recalled Aya's last words to Neuro before she left the house limping, everything turned out ugly after that. No, Yako was not angry at Neuro for letting himself be kissed by Aya, he made it clear that he never wanted such a thing to happen, and Yako was sure of his answer—it was Zera whom she was mad at. If only the transvestite hadn't told Aya of Yako's address in the first place, then none of this would have happened!

If there was anything that Neuro was a bit thankful for, it was the fact that her parents didn't hear a thing of their daughter's earlier rage (thank goodness for locked and soundproofed doors), that, and the fact that Yako didn't discover the knife that was tucked beneath her mattress—oh, if that were to hit him out of her anger...!

"Zera!" Yako bellowed, and she stomped her booted feet inside Neuro's house, not bothering to spare her shocked fiancé a glance.

Neuro knew that she was currently hell-bent mad, but not to the extent of her not taking off her shoes in his home—not that he minded it at all, but still...!

_And she dropped calling Zera by his surname._

Yako went inside the living room and yelled out Zera's name once more, and in a matter of seconds, the sound of patting footfalls could be heard from the direction of the kitchen. And Aomi Zera appeared before them, looking quite flustered at their sudden arrival.

"Oh, Neuro-_sama_, Yako-_sama_, nice to see you aga—"

"Cut the crap, Aomi. Did you tell Aizawa Aya about my address?"

Zera's eyes widened at the sudden question, and the way she asked him about it was—

(S)he looked at Neuro for a second, hoping to find a hint of some sort of what was happening, yet he saw that the blond merely looked away from him and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders with his hands nestled in his pockets. The very picture of apathy.

Yako seethed when she didn't hear Zera reply or explain anything, he was just standing there with his too muscular and hairy legs protruding through his thigh-high maid uniform—!

"Tell her the truth, Zera. Or you'll be facing my wrath, too," said Neuro dismissively, his eyebrow raised as he looked at a small speck of dust on the wall.

"I-I don't understand. A-Aizawa-_sama_ told me that she wanted to drop by Yako-_sama_'s house to say 'congratulations on being engaged'—"

Yako scoffed and bared her teeth, "Well, _that_ clearly didn't happen. If anything else, _nothing_ with an indication of 'congratulations' was exchanged every time I see her. What makes you think she'll congratulate me, anyway? She's the girl favored by Neuro's parents!"

Neuro wordlessly took a small step back. She was now leaning towards Zera, trying to reach his height despite their large difference in stature, speaking—_yelling_—at him in a way that Neuro had always done to Yako. In that 'in-your-face' manner.

"B-but she told me she'll return to Germany once she told you her congratulations—"

"And you actually believed that bullshit?" shouted Yako, and in a slightly lower timbre, Neuro.

"B-but I—N-Neuro-_sama_—" and Zera hurriedly went over to his master, kneeling and begging on his knees for his life to be spared from Neuro and Yako's combined wrath—but the damage had been done.

Neuro rolled his eyes at Zera, and the caretaker knew very well what that meant.

_I-is he d-dismissing—_

"You really did it this time, you tick," drawled Neuro lazily, and without batting an eyelash, he kicked and stepped on Zera's face. "I thought I told you time and time again that you—shouldn't—blab—anything—to my parents! Especially to that uptight, vile temptress! How many times must I drill it in your useless head? Shall I slice your amoeba-sized brain to prove you how useless you are? Huh? Do I have to sew that mouth of yours shut just to prove you my point?"

Zera was wheezing now, and with each kick to the head that he received from Neuro's shoes—he didn't take them off too, it seemed—there was a dull thrumming that reverberated in his ears, and he was close to getting unconscious if it weren't for Yako's words of stopping Neuro. At least, Zera faintly hoped she was stopping him.

"I think he gets the point now," mumbled Yako, trying hard to restrain Neuro with each ounce of her strength. By the way he was kicking him on the head, the poor caretaker would end up dying at an untimely hour, and she wouldn't have that—even if she was furiously mad.

"No. No, he doesn't get it," Neuro roared, trying to break free from Yako's strong grip on his arm, "he _will_ continue to communicate with that bastard couple and that snake like he had always did before!" And he kicked Zera on the side of his head once more, "You listen clear, you scum. You listen well and you listen clear! I will _not_ be marrying Aizawa Aya! You hear me? I won't! So take this as an order and deliver the message to those spineless fools! Make it your last and final call to them or I'll make it sure you'll return home to Germany as a corpse in a coffin!" With that said, he angrily stormed off, and Yako, who had calmed down a bit after seeing Zera's face get swollen from being repeatedly kicked, hesitated to follow her fiancé, as she spared the weakened Zera a quick glance—and the surge and aftertaste of guilt and regret washed over her.

"I apologize, Aomi-_san_," she started, her voice hoarse from yelling profanities earlier outside the door, "but really, I didn't like the way you treated Neuro's private affairs as though they're something to be toyed with! Even if they're to his parents! Everyone has their own secrets—and he's your master! Learn some respect! And you shouldn't be randomly giving other people's home addresses to anyone you meet!" and with a huff, Yako turned and quickly followed Neuro.

From a distance, Zera could faintly hear her muttering a hasty apology to Neuro on their way out—something about entering the house with one's shoes still worn.

* * *

><p>Tokyo was full of life as the bright neon lights glowed and random music flowed on the towering buildings and late-night establishments of the city. The cold wind tickled the people ambling by, and the occasional falling leaf from a random tree served as a reminder of the winter that will arrive in two months time. The smells of different kinds of food wafted by the nose of every person who would walk down the aisle of cafés and bakery shops and cake shops, of sweets shops and of the distinctive smell of convenience stores littered around every corner.<p>

Neuro's shoes clacked against the coldness of the sidewalk. It was late, very late at night, and for a moment, he didn't know if what he said to Yako earlier in her home was the right thing to do. But he had already told her, and that was that. He had let it to Fate to let the dice roll its next move.

At the back of his mind, it could have turned out worse—it could have been Neuro himself who had been pulverized by Yako's destructive wrath, but no such thing happened. Although he must admit, he _did_ cringe upon seeing Yako's reaction when he told her that he was kissed by Aya. The sight and the way that that small face of hers morphed from innocently curious to just plain insanely mad in mere milliseconds flat was something that he will never forget for the rest of his days—(no) thanks to his photographic memory.

On the plus side, he just realized how serious Yako's feelings were about him, and that alone made his cold heart swell with warmth.

He absentmindedly made a mental note to steer clear away from any issue that would involve him with another woman, so as for him not to be the unfortunate target of her anger in the future.

He heard the tapping of Yako's boots from behind him, and he stopped in his tracks to let her catch up with him. He let out a shaky breath as he saw her beige trench coat flutter in the wind, and her breathing came in short pants as she weakly held on to his electric blue, double-breasted coat.

When she did regain her strength to stand and walk, she let out a string of unstoppable words from her now chapped lips. "I shouldn't have done that, should I? I mean, my mind blanked out and everything looked red and without knowing it I—"

"Hush, hush, maggot. You did what you had to do. Besides, I needed to do that. He's stubborn as hell, thinking he still serves that couple," and he held her hand as they walked towards the streets leading to the place where the cabs were. Yako was silent as she listened on intently. "He's been telling them what I've been doing for the past 14 years—as if they would care. Bah, the only thing they wanted is for me to marry that snake-faced harlot so they could get a share of her family's wealth. I traced her background, and she is one of the members of the famed Aizawa clan back in Germany. They migrated there during the fall of the Berlin Wall, and started their own business by building several small-time recording companies, and they went big by the time the economy was back on its feet after the War."

Yako hummed, not sure what to say to that, and something in her heart felt being pricked by the cold winter frost. Without noticing it, she held his hand tighter, sniffling; and in a quiet little voice, she mumbled, "You really did your research on her, huh..."

"Hm? Why yes, of course I did."

Yako felt her heart stop.

Yet Neuro went on, oblivious to the look of pain on her suddenly pale countenance.

"I should know who she is in case she does something harmful to you if I'm not with you. In knowing who she is, I would have hints as to what her weaknesses would be so I could use it against her should she lay a finger on you." He abruptly stopped talking the moment he noticed her not humming idly to his words, and realization dawned on his marbled face as he looked back at her, "Why? Are you jealous?"

The wheeze of a truck passed them by. People from different places idly walked past them, casually avoiding them so they could get on with their way back to their respective destinations. A random bicyclist rang his bell twice as he rode by, passing by a young couple laughing on their way to a love hotel.

And the sounds around them seemed to slowly cease.

Yako stopped in her tracks, and Neuro noticed her bowing her head low, her hand still holding on to his firmly. He frowned, and tilted his head this way and that—like a little bird—yet he couldn't make out what sort of face she had at the moment, but he had a pretty good guess.

"Yako." _Damn, I'm bad at this_. "Yako. Yako, hush—look at me," and he inched closer to her, taking a deep breath for what is to come. He cupped her chin and lifted her face to him, and as he expected, a lone tear was rolling from her wide brown eyes, her lips and chin trembling as he looked at her.

Neuro suddenly looked lost. _Fuck. So much for trying not to make her cry…!_

"I just—don't want—to see you get close with another girl—"

He blinked at her twice, processing her words in his head, and his face slowly scrunched in mock disgust and he looked at her incredulously, and with a deep sigh, he pushed his gloved fingers in her mouth and pulled on her cheeks repeatedly and as roughly as he could, causing Yako to cease her tears and yelp loudly in the middle of the streets.

"You stupid, snot-nosed little girl. It would take a hell lot more than that for me to give another female a scrap of my attention. Don't whine for something that I didn't even do. You women and your plethora of emotions make me cringe." And he grinned as he saw her trying to fruitlessly pull herself away from his torture, using her bitty and cold hands to somehow detach herself from those painful fingers, only to end in vain as Neuro then quickly let go of her mouth and cheeks—

—only to shove his middle fingers straight and deep to Yako's nose.

"Neurooo!"

He looked at her proudly, his bright, jade-obsidian eyes gazing at her every expression and her every futile attempt of trying to break free from him.

Ah, now _this_ was the Yako he was used to dealing with.

He breathed in the smell of the fresh air, and in that moment, he knew that they returned to their normal routine—at least, he thought positively, for once.

He didn't know how he would be able to handle it if Yako would have another episode of her emotional tantrums—or her rampaging outbursts of apocalyptic wrath.

The sound of their surroundings seemed to flow once again.

"Ahaha! Yako, you have a very huge pair of nostrils over there! I can see some dried mucus in there, too! Oh my, is that nose hair? You need to trim those nasty hairs! Let me help you! I have a Swiss knife in my pocket right here—"

"Shtop—picking on my nose, dumbass!"

* * *

><p>Zera tended to his wounds and bruises with two ice bags taped on his face and head, whining when he looked at his reflection in his vanity mirror. He looked even worse than usual, and the mirror he was looking at seemed to crack just a bit. He noticed it, and he bawled, burying his face in his huge and coarse hands.<p>

"Even the mirror hates me!"

As though cued, the mirror shattered.

Zera bawled even harder.

* * *

><p>The shrill ring of a phone echoed from the almost bare walls of a cold and dark room. From the outside, the dull drone of the nocturnal city bellowed in the cold winds, the evening skies being littered by the soft, bokeh lights from the busy vehicles passing by the streets and from the neon lights of the billboards on the small and towering buildings alike. From afar, a lone dove cooed from the clouds.<p>

The shrill ringing of the phone continued, despite the owner of the said phone being in the same room as it was—

Aya stood near the window sill, her arms loosely crossed, her hazy reflection mirrored by the spotless window pane. Her impeccable beauty shone even if her face was void of her daily makeup. On her dainty hand was a picture of a small boy smiling at the camera, his wide grin effectively concealing the hue of his eyes.

She was dressed in a loose, long-sleeved and floor-length negligee with an off-white hue. The tendrils of her golden, wavy hair flowed to her shoulders and back. Her bare feet rested on the slightly cool and rough carpets. Her breaths came out in short puffs, making the window foggy with each exhale.

She ignored her phone ringing on her cold bed, and she frowned when the incessant noise wouldn't stop. With a sigh, she glanced at the digital clock resting on the small bedside table—it read one-fifty in the morning.

Wondering who could it be who would call her on such an ungodly hour, she languidly went over to her bed and checked the glowing screen of her phone.

_Aomi-chan._

"Hello, Aomi-_chan?_ What is it?"

There was the distinct sound of sniffling on the other line, and Aya's eyebrows rose. She asked him what happened, yet she could only hear sniffles and the occasional sound of static and shuffling of cloth.

The sound of silence echoed in her ears, and she wasn't sure if she was talking to anyone anymore, so when just as she was about to hang up, the sudden croak of Zera's voice jolted her.

_"I won't be serving Aizawa-sama anymore. I apologize." __  
><em>  
>"Eh? Aomi-<em>chan?<em> What are you saying?"

_"From now on, I will terminate my ties to the Nougami and Aizawa house." _

And the line went dead.

Aya stared at a space in her darkened room, her mouth agape as she tried to process what just transpired.

"Aomi-_chan_ is leaving me...?"

* * *

><p>Being pestered by several people a day was becoming a norm for Neuro and Yako—in schools, on the streets, in bookstores, in food joints and grocery stores, they always seemed to find themselves being bothered by random people in one way or another. It was either about someone noticing Neuro's foreign looks every time he and Yako passed by Shibuya, then later being mauled by annoying talent scouts loitering the busy streets (he would simply fend them off with an insult or two); or maybe even something about Neuro and Yako's appetite that caught some random waiter's attention in one of the restaurants they were eating in; or maybe even about the amount of books Neuro always bought from the bookstores they passed by; or maybe even the amount of food that Yako bought each time she went to the supermarket—in any case, their every move seemed to be catching the attention of the people around them, and over time, they have gotten used to it.<p>

So when a black sedan car slowly stopped in front of Neuro and Yako as they were about to go home from school, the students around them started to stop too and peered to check out who the mysterious driver was that seemed to be making a move to talk to their idols (from a distance, Shinobu watched). As far as they knew, Neuro was suspiciously wary of random vehicles stopping near him and Yako—

The tinted window rolled down, and a woman with blond hair, wearing dark sunglasses and brick red lipstick appeared.

Neuro snorted and quickly tried to drag Yako away, but it was too late. Yako wouldn't budge from where she was standing, her face contorted in bubbling anger about to burst forth the moment Aya stepped out of the car dressed in that flowing, halter-topped, ankle-length, eggplant-hued gown that looked like it was worth a million yen—_and why is that tramp walking up to me in that oh-so-demure-and-perfect-and-utterly-'I'm-such-a-lady' manner of hers? And she's wearing velveteen peep toe Blahniks! ...Oh wait. I have those, too._

The blonde smiled at Yako, and Yako bristled in silent fury. _No one tries to kiss and steal my partner right under my nose and gets away with it!_

"Hello, Katsuragi-_chan_," Aya greeted, "I take it Nougami-_san_ has recovered from his shock?"

Yako took a deep huff of breath, trying hard to control her rising volcanic temper. _She's really rubbing it in—_

All of a sudden, Neuro's voice cheeped from beside Yako, his eyes were large with mock innocence, and his smile wide and 'friendly'. "Do you mind? Some people here want to do something like, I don't know, go home and prefer not to be bothered by some slutty, overly make-upped shrew like you?"

Aya pursed her lips.

And without a second thought, Neuro took Yako's schoolbag and hauled his silently fuming Kitten over his shoulders, ignoring her protests on putting her down.

They left a surprised-looking Aya in front of the school gates with no remorse, and the blonde felt embarrassed by it all, for some reason or another.

The moment Yako let out a string of colorful and expletive curses was the moment that Neuro spanked her hard as he sprinted down the street (just in case Yako would blow up her anger and channel it on him instead of Aya); and she whined, her previous struggles ceased as she felt her bottom being gently patted—as she saw her reflection when they passed by the window of a candy shop, she could see Neuro kissing her thigh softly.

She gasped, and from that sight alone, she could feel her lower regions pool a familiar warmth.

Once the sight of the pedestrian lane was seen, Neuro then safely put Yako down on the pavement, and he sighed as smiled, tightly-lipped. "Anger gone, kitten?"

She pouted and crossed her arms as she looked at the traffic lights, "Kind of," and she glared at Neuro from the corner of her eye, "but really, I was going to give her a piece of my mind and you interrupted me!"

He laughed and pulled her close as they crossed the streets, "Your catfight fantasies can come later. It's time for you to buy me some books, piggy. Besides, I'm hungry. Which also means that _you're_ hungry, too. Not that that's news to me."

"Fine. But I'll choose where to eat this time. I'm in the mood for pizza."

"Such a demanding little thing, you are. But on another note, I'll take that as a positive change of your pre-menstrual mood. Come, my books are waiting."

"I'll be mourning for my money for the meantime, thanks."

"Haha. That sad tone won't work on me, kitty."

Yako bought his mystery books—a nifty amount of twenty-thousand was slashed from her pocket in a matter of ten minutes—and Neuro paid for their meal in the Italian restaurant that she wanted.

After they ate, they went back home to the Katsuragi household, where an unexpected guest greeted them the moment they passed by the kitchen.

Haruka was seated beside her husband on the dining table, eating their late afternoon tea and cookies, and sitting beside Seiichi was none other than Sasazuka Eishi, looking as silent and passive as always.

"Oh, Yako, Neuro, you're back! I reserved some snacks for you, oh, and Sasazuka-_san_ wanted to tell you something. Come, sit, sit!" Haruka piped, looking quite excited as she busied herself on preparing snacks.

"We just ate out, Mother. We're full for now, thanks. Hello, Sasazuka-_san_," and Yako bowed slightly; Neuro bowed in greeting as well, also politely declining the proffered food from Haruka—the bowl of soup she was offering definitely had something _moving_ inside the broth, and from a quick glance, Neuro could see Seiichi heave a sigh of relief upon seeing him decline the mysterious monstrosity.

Eishi stood stiffly and cleared his throat before speaking in that familiar gruff voice of his, "We have a problem, you two."

Neuro hummed and tilted his head, and showed him his most innocent and angelic smile, blinking naïvely as he asked the detective. "What kind of problem, sir? Does it involve the thief from before?" Neuro frowned when Eishi shook his head. His mind gears forming quick conclusions, he asked him again, "Is it about the Ewing case, then?"

The silence stretched on for a couple of moments, and it seemed that Eishi struggled to get his voice back as he shifted his socked feet left and right, searching the right words to curtly say to the teenagers.

His blank eyes idly looked at the young couple's forms. The 18-year-old boy was clearly too tall for his age, whilst the 18-year-old girl was clearly a foot smaller than her fiancé, and Eishi idly noted that the too-tall boy's arms were now slowly coiling themselves around the shoulders and torso of the blinking girl. The girl looked unfazed by the blond's apparently possessive hold, it seemed.

With a quick glance, he saw the attention-grabbing gleam of an expensive-looking ring around Neuro's finger, and when Yako finally made a move to simply lay her hands on Neuro's, Eishi saw another ring, this time on Yako's quite slim ring finger, resembling that of the eccentric blond.

_So they're really engaged._

He shook his head and tried to reel his mind back to the topic at hand. In the end, two words could only fit the short description for what news he was about to utter, and thinking that Neuro and Yako could take it all in stride, he opened his mouth and muttered.

"Tubulik escaped."

* * *

><p>It had been a week since the news that the policeman delivered to Neuro and Yako, and to date, the familiar face of one murderous Jody Tubulik has yet to be seen.<p>

Neuro had been on high alert since then, and he had refused to go home even during Yako's week of feminine nuisance, opting to sleep in the guest room in her house instead—something that he had never slept into for the past seven years he had been staying in. Seiichi and Haruka grew aware of the situation with Tubulik, and being the overly concerned parents that they were, they decided that it was the best for Neuro to stay with the Katsuragi family. Haruka could only vividly imagine how Neuro would react if anything bad were to happen to her daughter, and seeing as Neuro was one of the reasons why the Turk ended up in jail, she knew for a fact that her future son-in-law would have to tread on eggshells whenever he would go outside, especially if Yako was with him—the former teacher might use Yako against him.

November crept in with its cold winds and its occasional drizzles of equally cold rains—and Neuro couldn't be any grumpier than he already was.

"Yako. I don't care what kind of lechery you are going to do with those clothes, but could you please hurry up in there so we could drink a scalding mug of coffee?" He was grouchy. He became grouchy the morning that Yako had excitedly requested him to go shopping with her to the newly-opened mall near Shibuya 109—and since Shibuya 109 had always been the place where she would always go to shop with Kanae and Mutsuki (accompanied by the three bodyguards, of course), it would only make sense for Yako to pass there, too, which meant that Neuro would have to put up with Yako and her shopping spree in two, large shopping malls.

And today just happened to be a dreaded weekend _sale_.

Neuro grunted.

"I'll be out in a sec!" she said from behind a curtain that divided her from him. Neuro huffed as he sat on one of the cold, leather chairs in front of the changing area. She had been saying the same thing for the past two minutes and ten seconds, yet she had been staying in there, leaving him alone in front of the animé-curtained dressing room she was in.

He childishly pouted and furrowed his brows as his shoulders slumped and crossed his legs, his large hand cupped his chin and his elbow rested on his knee—the very picture of boredom and irritation. His eyes glared at the five bags of clothes and shoes that were sitting near his foot. They have been flitting from store to store for the past two hours, and since Neuro couldn't—_wouldn't_—leave Yako alone in fear of something dreadful might befall on her, he decided that it was the best for him to simply put up with her and her money-spending sprees of hers for once.

The only good thing that he could come up with out of this 'madness' as he once put it, was that he would get to see her in the various types of clothing styles that she so loved, which would mean that he would get a say on which ones would pass his standards—_Too bulky-looking...! Shows too much skin...!_—simply put, he was secretly enjoying the moments when she would ask his opinion about her clothes and whatnot, he just refused to show it to her.

The shuffling sound of the curtain rattled Neuro from his thoughts of fantasizing about her (which occurred daily, not that he denied it)—for the umpteenth time—and he looked straight at a loose-fitting and sleeveless shirt-wearing, mini skirt-clad Yako, who was broadly grinning at him the moment she made a little pose and twirl for him.

"What do you think?"

His eyebrows rose higher and higher, a forefinger tapped his thin lips silently as he eyed her with scrutiny, screening her for any indecent exposure that might occur should she have a wardrobe malfunction once she wore her choice of clothes.

He found himself smirking as he looked at her quite milky thighs.

"I could see a bit of your panties over there, if you bend down for me."

"Well, I'll make sure I won't bend, then. This skirt is just too cute for me to pass up! And it has pleats!" and she made another quick twirl and smile for emphasis, hoping to get Neuro's agreement on this one.

"You'll only wear that when you're with me, then. And no twirling. I just saw your cream panties over there."

That comment alone made her hop and squeal in glee, and she effectively dismissed the panty-seeing part. "Okay! Well, how about the top? Is it fine? I happen to like the little sewn embellishments on the shirt—it's made to shape like a Visual kei necklace! Cool, huh?"

He waved his hand nonchalantly, "Yes, yes. Cool, whatever. Now can we get that scalding cup of coffee you promised earlier, you roach?"

Yako sighed, and her enthusiasm deflated as she mumbled a soft affirmative and sadly slid the curtain shut. At least, she had already bought enough clothes and shoes before Neuro had run out of patience.

After buying her clothes with her money (Neuro refused to buy it for her unless it had something to do with her underwear; she wondered why), they set off to the quaint café that Neuro had been eyeing on since they passed by one of the stores. After ordering his usual long black coffee and her usual Earl Grey tea, they ordered a hefty amount of food, leaving the waitress baffled by their orders.

Neuro observed the quite charming and homey atmosphere the café provided, with its nice brown and yellow tones, well-lit ambience and oil-painted tapestries on the walls, he found himself smiling and nodding in silent appreciation, "This place is quite warm. I like it here. And it has nice music. Very calming, indeed."

Yako also silently roamed her sights on the interiors, and she smiled in return, "And the smell of the place is nice, too. Like coffee and fresh-baked bread. Tee hee!"

He scoffed, yet Yako could see a hint of a smug smile on his face. "You and your penchant for food."

"I could say the same to you, O Mister-High-and-Mighty-I-Hate-Colds-So-Much-and-Eats-Food-Too-Much-in-the-Winter."

He merely kicked her knees beneath the table in return.

After waiting for eleven minutes, their orders arrived, and it took three waiters to serve their food all at once, and when their table was already brimming with food, one of the waiters decided to place another table next to their own, leaving a happy Neuro and a satisfied Yako. The waiters quickly scurried off after being given a glare from Neuro—apparently, they were looking at Yako's exposed skin for too long. He secretly blamed her body-hugging red tank top (that showed too much of her shoulders and a tiny amount of her cleavage) and her thigh-high gray pleated skirt.

At least she wore her favorite knee-high boots (to properly cover her legs), and she brought a jacket just in case he would reprimand her on her unnecessary show of skin.

They ate and Neuro paid for the food, as usual; another forty-five thousand yen slashed from his credit card—not that he minded it at all.

As they exited the café, the familiar wail of a chef from the kitchen bellowed, and Neuro laughed.

Nearing a shoe shop, Neuro stopped Yako in her tracks.

"I need new shoes, slave. Get in," and he pushed her inside the store, grinning when she tripped on her own feet.

She groaned and dragged herself up back on her booted feet, exasperation written on her face. Around them, she could feel the eyes of customers and salespersons alike.

_Ugh._

Neuro followed closely behind her with a deceptively innocent smile, not before looking behind him to check if something—or someone—was following them. Piercing green eyes roamed the train of people passing by, and there was no familiar face. He shrugged, and quickly trailed after Yako.

From the corners of a boutique, right across the shoe shop, was a woman donned in a cream, sleeveless sundress topped with a black shrug, who eyed the retreating figure of Neuro's back as she hid within the crowd.

Clutched in her hand was a folded picture of a little boy.

_Nougami-san. I have waited for too long._

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><p><strong>AN: **Since I'll be whining on about the lack of reviews I've been getting recently, I'll take this as a time to thank my reviewers who have reviewed for the past year since this fic started~! *fist pump* I never got the time to thank my reviewers, it seems... *twiddles thumbs awkwardly*

To _Jinx Draconett_, _mholic_ (O hai Slave~), _Dr34m3rGurl_, _Sebastian's Kat_, _Nadia42_, _vampire-fetish15_, _PinkutoMomo_, _AlexandriteSky_, _lunabloodmoon666_, _honeyvonbunny_, _White Wave 1218_, _Gchan_, the two anonymous Guests who reviewed, _ffaeriemary_, _blackrose4ever_, _N'seka_, _MilissaRukia_, _ChaosAngel4us_, _kiraa_, _Roxxi980_, _Encuentrame_, _inkquill_, _Applejax XD_, _Angel the Guardian_, _Indiahenna_, _OlivineWK_, _spiel_, _Shiro-Kitsune8_ (I hope you're doing fine over there), _HiHelloIWeird_, _Seishin Okami_, _Reignashii_, _holimacaroni_, _Mrs. Karamai Elric_, _Byulli_, _RenegadeWarrior_ and _neuko fan_, thank you so much! :3 *heart*

I shall go back to wallowing in misery now.


	21. Solitas

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-One: Solitas <strong>

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><p><strong>AN:** Dat feedback. *me gusta* I-I just thought that no one wanted to read this fic anymore since every chapter is long. I thought that ya'll wanted a chapter to be like, too short or something. T^T But anyhow, since I got enough feedback stating that most of you wanted long chapters, then I shall continue doing it. :D

* * *

><p>Shopping, as some called it, would make people feel happy because of what they bought from store to store. To possess the things their greedy eyes want and need and desire from window to window, from store to store. It was to please themselves, and sometimes, to please their loved ones waiting at home. The downside was—as it had always been—spending too much money on the things that they don't really need in their pathetic and pitiful lives.<p>

A deeply contemplating Neuro failed to understand, however, why every single store that he had seen would have a very long line of grumbling customers in front of the counter.

Every _single time._

"Yako. Amuse me."

"Neuro. I can't just amuse you with a snap of a finger. I'm not a clown."

"Maybe if I pour a plaster of Paris on your face, you will look like one. What do you call it—? Oh yes, 'foundation' was it?"

"That's not what it's made of, dummy."

"Aww. Would you like me to make a new kind of foundation for you, then? It will make you look like a walking cement block—suits you well, I must say!"

Yako sighed from beside him, and pouted at the long line that they were going through. They have been standing in line for about a quarter of an hour, and they were still behind a dozen of persons before it would be their turn.

Neuro tapped his foot impatiently and crossed his arms as his eyes flitted from racks upon racks of various female intimate apparel, his scowl becoming more and more apparent as time passed by. Accompanying Yako to her trip to the lingerie boutique sounded easy enough for him, as he had no complaints in going to such a store—rather than deciding to just loiter in front of the said boutique like most of the men were while waiting for their girlfriends or wives. Neuro peered back at the entrance of the shop, and surely enough, there was a string of grumbling men leaning or sitting against the glass panes.

He huffed.

He couldn't do that to Yako. If there was one thing he was good at, it was that he had never once let Yako have an ounce of privacy when it comes to her undies and clothes. He seemed to know every single piece of clothing she owned in her closet and drawers—day and night clothes, cocktail dresses, formal gowns (she had five), kimonos and yukatas, casual clothes, the pairs of school socks she owned (she had six), her clothes for each season, her eternally unused bikinis (he always forbade her to wear such a thing in public beaches), and even her childish and mature underwear. He knew and memorized them all, which was why he could say that he was comfortable when being faced with the complex puzzle that was the world of girl's lingerie—only if said lingerie belonged to his fiancée, of course.

There were several types of underwear as far as he knew it, and while waiting in line, he pondered the complexities of the female intimate apparel as he eyed the rows and rows of undergarments.

_There's thermal, tank top, bikini—high and low-sided, and the string type—G-string, tanga, thong. The O-back and T-back. There's also the brassiere, the bane of all women's choices. A t-shirt type, a balconette, the strapless type, there's the demi type, the padded type, there's the one for sports, and the push-up type—Yako has three of the push-up ones, I think. Hm..._

The line moved just a bit, and he sighed as he looked to his left.

_Boyshorts. Panties—control ones (is that spandex over there?), crotchless panties, French cut, and the hipster._

His critical green eyes slid to his far left, and he blinked.

_Now those are hard to memorize. Hm. There's the babydoll (Yako has taken a fancy of them lately), the basque, the bedjacket, bloomers, lots of shapewear—she doesn't need those slimming things, bah. The bodice, corset and bustier (I'd like to see that on her). The camisole and the teddy. The chamice. The corselet and corsage. Oh, the French maid (must buy her some of those for her one day). Girdles and garter belts. Granny panties... what. Hosieries. Negligees. Petticoats and pettipants—for the lolitas, I think. Slips and robes—she doesn't use those, either. Torsolettes._

Tilting his head this way and that, his curious eyes roamed for something that would fit Yako well—

His eyes landed on a very familiar row of boxed underwear, and without a second thought, he tapped Yako and went over to where his current line of interest was.

He looked at what it said on the box and grinned. Ah, now that was what he had been looking for.

He returned to where Yako was, still standing and shifting one foot to another, and back. She looked at Neuro curiously, and without a word, he happily showed her what he had gotten.

"...Cherry and honey-flavored underwear... Another edible bra?" and she gaped as she saw him nodding quite excitedly like a child that had just seen his most favorite toy. She sighed in defeat, there was no winning over Neuro and his fantasies of her—she wasn't the one to complain about that, in fact. "Fine. But you'll be paying for it."

He nodded eagerly once more, his hair bobbing and swaying wildly with each nod as he did so. And Yako laughed.

* * *

><p>Yako looked at the note that was stuck on the fridge, and sighed. "They'll be gone for a week. Again." The sound of her socked feet padded on the cold wooden floors as she went to the living room and looked at Neuro, who was putting the shopping bags on the couch with a hidden smile. "Neuro? Would you like some somen?"<p>

In response, he snorted, looking at his newest pair of shoes as he did so. "Somen? _Really?_ Cold noodles? Are you trying to make me laugh?"

She giggled at his reaction, "Sorry. Um, how about the oden that we bought?"

He shrugged as now looked at the box of edible underwear that he brought for her, "That will do. And tonkatsu. And croquettes."

"And nikujaga!"

Neuro smiled at her suggestion, "Yes, yes. Nikujaga. Now get on to it. We're hungry."

Yako did as she was told, and from a distance, Neuro could hear her hollering a quick "I'll make dorayaki for dessert!" to which he yelled a quick affirmative.

Quickly taking out his phone, he checked out the current state of the entire house during their short absence. Seeing none, he then looked at one of his eyebugs which was sitting near the coffee table. Satisfied and smiling, he put his phone back to his pocket, only to hear it blare out a deafening tone.

Taking out his phone once more, the screen flashed an angry red. Tapping a button to see where the intruder was, a flashing red dot appeared at the bottom of the screen—it was near the layout of the house.

He could hear Yako's flurry of steps from the kitchen as she dashed out to check on him. "Neuro? What was that noise?"

He glanced at her worried countenance, and with no hesitation, he pulled out his Wenger Giant Swiss Army knives hidden in his socks, making her gasp. Seeing her about to make a comment on something that would likely involve him collaborating with violence, he immediately held a finger to his lips, a she clamped her mouth shut.

The phone screen indicated that the intruder was near the _front door_.

Figures.

He glared at the door, readying his stance to strike the moment he opened it—

—only to grumble and sigh in annoyance at the sight of Zera dressed in his hideous maid uniform, wailing and prostrating himself on the doormat.

"Neuro-_sama!_ I have seen the error of my ways! Please take me under your wing again! I-I beg of you! You and Yako-_sama!_ Waah!"

Yako then curiously peered behind Neuro, blinking at Zera who seemed to be performing the kowtow repeatedly for some time now. A steady drip of blood was now flowing down his forehead.

She suddenly felt pity for the poor thing.

"Neuro, we better let him inside. It's cold out here," she whispered to her skeptical fiancé, touching his arm as she did so. Neuro merely groaned and tucked away his knives in his pockets, glaring at his caretaker with a snarl.

"He better be having blue balls by the time he enters this house," and he huffed, walking away from the door. When he didn't hear the sound of the door shutting, he looked back at Yako, who seemed to be thinking of whether to let Zera in or not. "Yako, just close the door if you don't want him here."

Knocking out of her thoughts, Yako shook her head and kindly offered Zera to enter the house, to which the transvestite—_the term 'fruitcake' suits him well_—eagerly agreed to.

"Yako-_sama!_ I'll never disappoint you ever again! I'll never take advantage of your—gghrk!"

"Don't go around hugging her then, you cretin. Unless you want me to slice your disgusting hands."

"Neuro, don't strangle him!"

Neuro suddenly looked at her innocently, then back at the blue-faced Zera. "B-but I was having fun strangling him with my bare hands. His face is so unpleasant it makes me want to burn his hideous mug in acid..."

"Let go of him already! Sheesh."

Neuro jutted his lip in an attempt to look pitiful, and when he was met with a stern glare from Yako, he dropped the blameless look altogether, it being replaced by a glower and a snarl at Zera as he let him go, feeling slight satisfaction at the wheezing and coughing man kneeling on the floor. Yako sighed and mentally prepared herself for the torture that she was sure would happen to her for ordering him—

"Yako. Take a rest. Let this putrid and revolting thing make dinner for tonight," he declared, still sadistically smirking and looking down on Zera as he spoke. When Zera looked up at Neuro, (s)he heard another order from those thin lips. "We're having tonkatsu, croquettes, nikujaga—and dorayaki for dessert. Also, heat up the oden in the kitchen. And prepare oolong tea. Hurry up! Don't slack off and get on to it," and he snorted as he walked away from Zera to return to the living room to get his shoes and Yako's edible brassiere.

When Yako was sure that he was out of earshot, she whispered to the still snot-nosed and tear-and-blood-stained Zera.

"I'd say that that's his way of telling you he forgives you," she looked at the baffled caretaker and giggled. "Just don't do it again. If you happen to do it again, I won't be so forgiving, okay?"

Zera watched Yako giggling and winking at him, and at the back of his mind, he could sense that she would definitely be not as forgiving as before if he made another mistake.

He gulped.

_Neuro-sama's sadism is rubbing off on her...!_

* * *

><p>After being served a hefty dinner, Zera then formally declared his loyalty to Neuro and Yako, and only to them alone, to which the young couple accepted, though with a bit of skepticism from Neuro's part. Yako however, was willing to compromise.<p>

She offered to let Zera stay for the night, as it had already been past eleven o'clock when they had finished talking about certain things and she wouldn't want him to go wandering in the dark. Neuro was adamant that Zera should sleep on the couch without a blanket, however. Let him suffer for a bit, was what he said. Unsurprisingly, Zera obeyed without complaints, much to Neuro's dismay. He was expecting some crying and pleading here and there.

Neuro kept a close watch on him by putting ten of his forty eyebugs in the living room, surrounding Zera alone. Yako thought it was too much of Neuro, but the blond thought otherwise. For the safety of their privacy was Neuro's reason, and she silently left it at that.

Neuro may have forgiven Zera for his traitorous and deceitful behavior, but it didn't mean that he would be lax and turn a blind eye on the transvestite's previously double-faced ways. Not that he would tell that to Yako.

_The tick told me that he severed ties with my parents, but I doubt it. He hasn't proven himself worthy of my trust._

As he laid down to sleep with Yako after showering with her for an hour—putting the edible bra on her certainly made her feel frisky, and they stayed in the bathroom performing only foreplay, too!—he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about the matter with Zera and his apparent and troublesome blabbing.

And the faint sound of footfalls outside the bedroom door made him curious.

"Zera?" he called out loudly, which stirred Yako from her slumber.

The door creaked open, and surely, there was Zera blinking through the little gap. "Yes, Master?" he asked.

"Where are you going?" Neuro countered. Zera noted that the young couple was draped in blankets, their clothed forms peeking just a tad from the edges of the comforter. Neuro had one arm wrapped around Yako, who had her back turned towards the door. Even she had an arm wrapped around them.

Zera felt a bit envious of their state.

"Zera, I'm asking you a question."

"Hm? Oh-! Yes. Um, I was about to go to the washroom and—"

Neuro then scoffed, "Is that so? Well, you're better off, then. Just make sure you won't jack off or something."

Zera gasped, "Neuro-_sama!_" and he squealed when a book went flying to his face, effectively shutting the door as he went.

Hearing a soft grumble from beside him, Neuro hushed and patted Yako's head softly. His arm reached out to turn off the bedside lamp, and he scooted closer to her.

From outside the bedroom door, a sole eyebug crept near the bathroom, and it watched the slightly opened bathroom door, seeing Zera begin to unzip his skirt as he stood over the toilet bowl.

The eyebug then hastily went away.

* * *

><p>Wednesday came by and went, and by the time their school day ended, Yako felt quite tired, while Neuro remained as chipper as a kitten.<p>

She dragged her feet on the school grounds, her hand loosely clasped onto Neuro's arm as he led her towards the school gates.

"Reviewing for universities suck... I wanna die..."

Neuro huffed, smiling calmly still as he stopped and held her hand instead, "Bah. You're just not studying enough. Your pathetically paramecium of a brain won't be able to take even a sliver of information about anything under the sun."

"So cruel..." she mumbled, yet even so, she forced herself to catch up to his side and nuzzled her cheek on his sleeve, to which the latter chuckled in return.

At the entrance gates, parking near the lamp post, was the familiar black sedan car from before, and standing near it was Aya, finely-dressed and elegant as always.

Yako muttered a curse as she looked at that smug face, but she was in no mood to pick a fight—not after that hell-bound cramming from earlier. All her energy was taken by the evils of studying for the university exams.

Neuro definitely felt Yako stiffen the moment she saw the blonde, and he deeply sighed, and his calm smile fell from his face as they approached Aya.

"Oh, hello again, Katsuragi-_chan!_ Had a nice day?" she greeted with a smile and a wave, and Yako responded with a mere poker face and a snort as she tugged on Neuro's arm quite forcibly as they walked away from the taller female.

Yako could hear Aya muttering a German curse and another insult which she was quite familiar with, and Yako, being the indignant being that she was at the moment, thought of performing her murderous thoughts to reality there and then, but as soon as she turned around to curse Aya to hell, all Yako saw was Neuro's back. _Eh?_

All Yako's musings of saying something insulting to Aya's face had taken a grinding halt as Neuro spoke in a language she had little familiarity with.

His voice held malicious intent as he smiled at Aya—his cheerful expression didn't match with his baritone voice dripping with deadly venom.

"_Schlampe_. _Bitte. Geh und stirb_. Eh heh!" And with that said, he smugly walked away, carrying Yako on his right arm as he did so, reveling at the stunned and crestfallen look that Aya had.

Aya silently watched them walk away from her. She gritted her teeth at the sight of Neuro's retreating form, and with a low snarl, she glared at the now crumpled picture that she had been holding in her petite hand.

* * *

><p>Zera had returned to Neuro's house after a day of staying in Yako's home, and by the time they returned from school, a table full of a hearty meal was already waiting for them in the kitchen, along with a scrawled note attached near the still steaming pot of rice. It said that Zera apologized for what happened, and hoping that his master and mistress would take his dishes as a form of apology.<p>

Yako immediately forgave Zera with a squeal. Neuro merely huffed as he unbuttoned the first three buttons of his uniform and sat on the chair and began to eat.

"You know how to speak _German?_ Why didn't you tell me?" Yako asked, changing the topic upon seeing Neuro's scowl regarding his caretaker.

"Heh. Of course I should. I was born there after all."

Yako made a sound of awe as she looked at Neuro, and her previous sour mood about Aya—her words still rang in her ears (_She called me a pig! It's only okay if Neuro said that to me!_)—shifted as she bounced on her feet as they she washed her hands. "Does that mean that you know how to make sweet farina casserole?"

"What? No! How should I know how to cook? That's Zera's job. _My_ job is to eat food. _Your_ job is to feed me. Now sit, maggot."

She obeyed and eagerly ate her first dish—a plate of pasta carbonara. Blinking at the quietly eating Neuro, she formulated a question in her head, and without thinking, she blurted out a grumbled "Do you missh yer hom'?" in between forkfuls of pasta.

She was not at all surprised when his reply was a lilting hum and a small lopsided smile as he ate his food. Neuro looked at Yako with a distant gaze.

"If I were missing my home, I would have returned there a long time ago. Probably even before I met you. Since you are still looking and talking to me at this moment, I would say that, _no_, I never once missed it."

Feeling something tugging at her heart, Yako suddenly felt the need to comfort him in any way that she could.

* * *

><p>Watching the nightly news always bored her to death. Yako, after observing Neuro's behavior for all these years, still didn't know what he found so fascinating about the whole thing, aside from being updated with the events of the world, of course.<p>

"What? I thought that guy got hanged already!" exclaimed a popcorn-eating Yako, who was sitting on the carpeted floor with a surprised look on her face. Neuro had been occupying the couch with his tall self for the past hour, and he was enjoying the news, that, and added the various expressions that Yako sported, made watching TV seem interesting enough.

"You should watch the news more often. Who knows? Maybe someone might find a way to eradicate all the cockroaches and all the other disgusting bugs in the world. You should go into hiding if that happens! I bet it will be you who will be the first to go _poof!_"

Yako's eye twitched. "Why do you look so happy, then."

"Heh."

The dull drone of the television served as their white noise, and a comfortable silence fell upon them, and it was only broken by the sudden ringing of the phone near the foyer.

Yako stood up automatically and left the room to answer it. As she left, she was unaware of the gleaming pair of green eyes trained on her backside.

A languid smile fell upon Neuro's lips, and when he could no longer see her, he opted to look at the half-eaten bowl of popcorn and feasted upon it.

A few minutes passed, and Yako returned to the living room with a smile on her face.

"It was Aomi-_san_. She... he... apologized for what happened," she pursed her lips and stared off in space for a moment, and she sighed as she went to carefully sit on Neuro's stomach.

"Your place is on the floor, sow bug."

"But it's comfortable here."

"Do I look like a couch to you, you hippo?"

In response, she laughed, and straddled his stomach instead. "No, but you look like a horse to me. Giddy up!" Emphasizing her point, she placed her hands on his chest and playfully nudged his shin with her foot.

He chuckled, and smiled lopsidedly at her as he lightly held her hips, and without hesitation—

—he smacked her right butt cheek. Hard.

He reveled in the way her body suddenly stiffened as she gasped, and how her eyes widened and her mouth fell agape as he saw a bit of her pinkish tongue.

Seeing as she was too speechless to utter a mere word of protest, and thinking that she enjoyed the sudden spank, he did it again on the other butt cheek. Twice as hard.

Yako let out another choked gasp, and her neck snapped back as her chest stuck out and her back arched and her toes curled. He did it one more time for a good measure, in between her now sore buttocks, and he smirked triumphantly when she trembled and let out a cry and collapsed on top of him, panting, her nether regions warm and quivering from the earlier treatment she received.

Her eyelids drooped, and her fingers idly kneaded Neuro's chest like a contented cat, sighing upon feeling her head being gently patted.

"You're getting more masochistic, kitten. Usually it takes about ten butt slaps for you to crumble in defeat, but now..." he trailed off, and seemed amused by her contented sighs.

Yako merely squirmed and whined, rubbing her head on his chin as she did so. Neuro simply smiled, and he held her.

"Is that your way of telling me to rub you until you endlessly squirt again?"

She gasped at his words, and she ground her hips to his in a silent affirmative.

* * *

><p>The familiar view of the city below from the glass windows seemed unnerving as of late.<p>

Aya paced her room back and forth, her face scrunched in all seriousness as she wiped the tears that had dampened her cheeks, and she spoke in hurried German on her phone, her words too fast to understand by the person on the other line. When asked to repeat what she said, Aya sighed and tried to calm her nerves.

"I can't do this anymore, _Mutti_. He is very taken with her! Enamored! Captivated! Enthralled! He follows her like a lifeline and protects her like his own flesh! I can't _stand_ it—seeing myself following this person whom I know will never love me back is just... It's killing me."

She paused, and she let out another sob, "No! I am not going to do this anymore! I've tried everything I could—I can't just _steal_ him from her! _Mutti_, they are in _love_—how many times must I say it! ...Look, I don't care if they get angry at me, _you're_ the one who arranged this deranged folly! You and _that_ couple! I never wanted to get married to a man who doesn't even love me! ...You know what. Now I know why he left them—he was suffering from the loss of love from his parents who only wanted to get their pockets fat. They never cared for his son! Every time I see him with that girl, it was as if she is his family, even if he's with her parents! ...Of course I should know it, hah, I've stooped to stalking just to see what kind of woman he had taken fancy of. You see how far I have fallen? I have taken such a drastic measure for this man! All for this family! ...I see you're trying to change the subject, _Mutti_. How convenient of you. Very well. Her parents are the complete opposite of his. No _wonder_ he never left their house. He has all the love he needs."

She stopped in her restless pacing, and a pang of pain shot through her heart at the realization of what she just said.

A lone tear rolled down her dampened cheek.

"_...he has all the love he needs..._"

And Aya hung up her phone, her honey-brown eyes staring blankly into space as she muttered loneliness from her lips.

* * *

><p>It was one of the rare days that the girls hanged out. Yako, Kanae and Mutsuki went to different tea houses (courtesy of Yako), makeup and perfumes stores and fashion boutiques, and bought accessories for themselves as they passed by the teenage-aimed malls.<p>

The usual group of six split up for the meantime, as the girls went from mall to mall and the boys went from karaoke sessions to drinking beers. It was nearing winter break, and the ever stinging cold was felt throughout the city. It was Kanae's idea in the first place that they should hang out in their respective gender groups from time to time; that, and the fact that they were already in their senior year in senior high—time would be slipping and fading fast from their still fledgling fingers once January comes.

Getting ready for the third term, cramming for the university exams, the heartbreaks that would ensue, the farewell hugs and tears that would surely flow once graduation day crept closer as the days passed by—the dreaded things such as the painful sorrow of leaving friends and the rush of excitement and nervousness of what will come to their lives in the future would be swept aside for now.

Today was a time for fun, to momentarily freeze the cruel passage of eternal time, to forget responsibilities for a fleeting wink, to take a break from the bittersweet reality that they were about to face once they return to their normal lives.

It wasn't everyday that you get to live your life in the spring of your youth, after all.

Neuro, as Yako predicted, texted her every half an hour to check if they were all right and not "wrecking havoc in Akihabara" as he said. She, in turn, texted him if he was yet to be drunk in the pub they were currently in. Karaoke sessions were definitely not Neuro's choice of passing time, and he grumbled curses through the phone when he called her as the girls made their way to one of the cat cafés near the district.

From the background, Yako could hear a butchered rendition of a song she was quite familiar with—and she was very sure that that was Shinobu's voice drunkenly slurring in between hiccups and teeth-scraping, ear-splitting, trying-hard-to-reach sopranos echoing in the background as Neuro talked with annoyance and exasperation.

_Poor him._

After telling Neuro where she was at the moment, and after giving him a few more words of encouragement in enduring Shinobu's horrible singing voice, Yako hung up her phone and caught up with her friends as they entered _Neko JaLaLa_.

They sat and ordered food from what seemed to be their fifth tea house for the day, except for this particular house, not only they get to have an afternoon snack, they would also be interacting with the fuzzy and furry little felines scattered inside the café.

While waiting for their teas and cakes, Yako played with a male ginger-and-white Maine Coon, which had feral green eyes that fondly reminded her of her fiancé. Cooing and patting it twice on the head, it hissed at her and tried to swipe at her hand, but Yako merely laughed. When it tried to claw on her knee this time—as she was squatting on the carpeted floor—she glared at the cat's eyes, and it slowly withdrew its claws back to its furry paw pads and averted her gaze, as though blinking at the wall to its right.

Yako stifled a smile and patted its back all the way to its long and furry tail, and the cat remained averting its gaze.

_So what Neuro said was true. If you glare at a cat, the feline would consider it as a threat, and a cat looking away is seen as a sign of submission._

Yako made a contained sound of a squeal as she put the now non-threatening cat on her denim-clad lap, and she began to nuzzle it.

Mutsuki too, shared the contained squeal of glee as a clowder of one-year-old cats approached her near her feet. Kanae merely softly smiled as a lone gray, blue-eyed Shorthair purred and circled her leg with a faint meow and a playful paw nudging her perfectly-painted toes.

After having their orders delivered at their table, Yako sadly returned to her seat, not before quietly putting the cat back on the floor, smiling when the Coon immediately stretched its furry and flexible body and yawned as it rested in a corner to curl up and sleep.

"This place is nice," commented Yako with a wide smile towards the waitress, "this is my first time being in a cat café. I'm enjoying it!" And the waitress smiled and giggled in return as she bowed and muttered a word of thanks. Happily bidding them to have a nice stay, the waitress excused herself and she went away to serve the other customers.

Still smiling, Yako ate her share of a decent snack that, for once, didn't involve three tables filled with food. Mutsuki silently ate her strawberry shortcake, and stealthily gave a piece of strawberry to one of the cats adorably pawing at her boots.

Kanae, after observing the interior design of the café and glancing at the other customers with her critical eye, quietly leaned towards the table, nudged Yako's elbow and whispered.

"Home-wrecker at your six o'clock. Don't make it look obvious."

Yako quirked an eyebrow at her best friend's comment, and Kanae merely jerked her head to her left. Yako slowly followed Kanae's trail of sight—looking behind her in an almost inconspicuous manner with a slight frown.

The first thing she saw was a familiar back profile, those familiar tendrils of wispy blond locks that softly sat upon a slender pair of shoulders up to a thin waist.

Yako's lips fell to a thin line.

_Aizawa Aya._

* * *

><p>A sharp yell and a bellowing laugh echoed inside one of the rooms in the karaoke house, and a quite drunk Shinobu slurred and tried to sing at the top of his gruff and croaky voice.<p>

"_Eternally r'peatin' a cinema of d'spair—_"

"For fuck's sake, Godai. Stop screeching already! Yer making my ears cry with blood!"

"Geeh—shaddup, ya punk. I'm shing'ing 'ere!"

"'P-punk', ya say? Why I oughtta—"

A shoe to the head was all it took to knock Shinobu off of the table he was 'singing' on, and the man immediately dropped out cold.

Yukinori, who was dressed in his usual yakuza get-up along with his favorite fur coat, hung his mouth open at a grumbling, furrow-browed Neuro, who calmly stood up and went over to the unconscious Shinobu, retrieved his just-thrown shoe and put it back on his left foot, and he silently returned to his seat on the leather couch and took a shot of the bourbon clutched in Yukinori's hand. When the platinum-haired male was about to protest, Neuro silenced him with a single yet soul-piercing glare.

Neuro placed the shot glass on Shinobu's crotch and stepped on it, satisfied upon hearing the distinctive _crack_.

Shinobu remained out cold.

Yukinori kept his mouth shut and raised his palms in defeat, backing away from Neuro slowly.

Neuro huffed, crossed his legs and arms as he smiled sadistically at the sight of Shinobu's now bruised and swollen forehead. Yet even so, he still felt on edge and jittery from the inside, and it was not because of the liquor, either—he wondered why. He muttered something under his breath, and Yukinori was sure he heard him mutter Yako's name.

In a half-hearted attempt to lighten up the mood, Yukinori laughed, "Ya worried 'bout yer pillbug?" And when another glare was sent to him, Yukinori merely shrugged nonchalantly and held his palms up once more—with no malicious intent about Yako. "That _is_ what ya call 'er, righ'? Yer pillbug. Yer maggot. Yer kitten. Ya give her a lotta strange pet names, if ya ask me. It makes me wonder how she put up with all that," and he smirked at Neuro, to which the latter merely replied with a pair of eyes squinting suspiciously at him.

Neuro grunted. "I'm the only one allowed to call her that. No one else. And to answer your invasive line of thought—she is used to it. I've been calling her those names since grade school."

Yukinori smirked, "Yer really smitten with 'er, eh? What did ya see in 'er?"

"Getting nosy, eh. Well, I should ask you the same. What did _you_ see in that boy-hoarder?"

"Kanae? Is that what ya call her? Haha! Well, for starters, she is pretty and has this charm—"

"And she uses that prettiness and charm to lure other men to her waiting claws."

"...I think you have her confused with a man-eating siren. Or a split-mouth woman. Or something."

Neuro shrugged, staring off in space with a little smile, "I'd take both. Her man-eating siren skills and her innate ability to demand attention through the means of asking anyone if she is pretty, then blow up if they say she's pretty because she thinks they're lying... Japan has strange tastes in legends."

"I think it's a nice way of putting color in our everyday lives, right? Haha!"

In turn, Neuro slowly looked at Yukinori with a blank smile and a slight tilt of the head, "Speaking of legends and colors, do you want the red paper or blue paper?"

Yukinori's eye twitched and backed off all the way to the edge of the couch, "D-dude, that's not funny. At all."

* * *

><p>Yako silently observed the table that Aya occupied, her lips still drawn in a thin frown. Sipping on her milk tea, her eyebrow arched as she saw Aya trying to comfort herself through the means of a discreet self-hug, rubbing her right arm slowly as she did so.<p>

From her seat, Yako could tell she was crying—her makeup could never conceal her puffy eyes and her reddened nose and the little rattles her shoulders make as she hunched and slowly rocked herself back and forth.

Near Aya's foot, a Bobtail looked and pawed at her, silently demanding attention. The cat was ignored.

Yako turned her attention back to her slice of carrot cake, and looked at Kanae and Mutsuki, who were looking equally as grim as she was.

"Should I approach her?"

Kanae shook her head, "She doesn't look like she's in the mood to talk, though. She—or you—might cause a scene."

"Not in front of the kitties, _nee-chan_."

Yako sighed, "Fine. If you two said so, then it will be so."

* * *

><p>Neuro went to Shibuya station as he promised to Yako earlier after he left the karaoke club.<p>

Standing in front of the Hachikou exit, he stood and waited for two minutes in the cold until Yako showed up, panting and exhausted from running.

"You didn't use the train?" Neuro asked, looking quite amused as he approached her heaving form casually with a lazy smile on his face.

Her knees bucked and Neuro deftly caught her fall, patting her head as he did so. She held up a hand as she tried to catch her breath, and when she did, the first thing she did was to sniff his coat.

"I see you poured your cologne all over your clothes."

He grunted, "Only because the cigarette stench from those two won't go away. And now my clothes stink like you."

Yako pouted and lightly punched his chest. "Haha. Funny. Now let's go home. I'm starving."

"But you told me earlier you just went to six tea houses and two restaurants—oh right. I forgot I'm talking to a pig right now."

* * *

><p>As soon as Neuro got inside Yako's room, he immediately rummaged through her closet, took out his sweater and sweatpants, throwing them on the edge of the bed, and went straight to the bathroom, shedding his clothes on the floor along the way. It was only him and Yako in the house, anyway. No need for pretenses.<p>

When a pajama-clad Yako saw the mess of strewn clothes a few minutes after Neuro entered the bathroom, she merely sighed and picked up the discarded clothing and threw them to the hamper. She stared at the locked door—debating whether to knock on it or not, she simply went to her room and left the door open. She sat on the bed, avoiding Neuro's clothes, and faced the door anxiously, her back hunched, her hands wound together on her knees that were touching firmly, her toes twiddling restlessly, pulling on the little fuzz-like threads on the carpet, and gooseflesh was forming on her skin. _I need to pee._

Ten minutes passed, and the sound of running water stopped, and a freshly-showered, still dripping wet and slightly flushed Neuro emerged from the now steam-filled bathroom, draped in only a white towel covering his privates.

"Finally," and Yako rushed to the bathroom—her head bowed throughout—and clicked the door shut, leaving behind a shrugging Neuro.

Unbeknownst to him, a blushing Yako was covering her face as she urinated in the bowl.

_Those collarbones will be the death of me someday...!_

When Yako returned to her room, she saw Neuro draped over the bed, his left arm hanging limply on the edge of the mattress, seemingly staring at a blank space on the wall.

She giggled. "I'm guessing you drank a lot tonight?"

Neuro weakly shook his head and lazily waved his hand. His sights remained on the wall as he spoke, "I just drank a shot of bourbon. That's it. I'm not risking another bomb of stench on my soiled clothes."

She hummed, seemingly satisfied with that explanation. _Besides, I didn't smell alcohol on his clothes and breath earlier when we met at the station, either._

Neuro averted his gaze from the wall, and stared at a silently humming Yako instead, who was now removing her accessories and placing them on the bedside table.

"How about you?" he asked. "You look happy."

In return, Yako smiled and plopped her weary self on the inviting softness of the bed, sitting beside him as she did so. "We saw Aizawa in the cat café today. And she was crying."

An eyebrow arched as a frown marred Neuro's features, and he repositioned himself on his back, his ribcage rising and falling with each breath as he now looked at Yako, "And I assume you didn't do anything stupid?"

"Of course I didn't." The poker face that Yako suddenly sported made Neuro think that she was saying otherwise.

A lazy smile graced his lips, and he reached out for her hand, her engagement ring bumping against his thumb. "Hm... I can sense you are lying to me, Yako."

She clamped her lips, and looked to the left, and when she felt the comforting hand still laid upon hers, she quirked a stifled smile, "Kind of...?"

"Well then, spill it. I'm waiting, you fly," he blinked, his lips curled in that familiar haughty smirk as gleaming green eyes looked at warm brown ones.

She tried to put up a brave front, she really did, but the events from earlier were too dramatic to push away, and Yako told him what she thought he needed to know. "Kanae-_chan_ blew up at her on our way out, you see, even if she told me not to cause a scene. She talked—loudly, mind you—about how much of a home-wrecker Aizawa is, and it took a prick from Mutsuki-_tan_'s safety pin for Kanae-_chan_ to stop."

As though asking a question with his curious stare alone, she elaborated. "Mutsuki-_tan_ pricked Kanae-_chan_'s elbow."

And Neuro blinked, then laughed, "I knew that shrimp had thorns."

Yako wholeheartedly agreed. "Aizawa said little, saying she was being inconsiderate about you. Kanae-_chan_ looked miffed and—we took a silent leave after that ruckus. I said nothing to her the whole time, if you're wondering. To Aizawa, I mean. If I did, I would never stop talking, would I? And the whole café would be in chaos if I started lashing out."

"Good thing you know."

"Agreeing so quickly..."

"Heh."

Her phone suddenly rang from the bedside table, and Neuro, who was nearer to the phone, answered it.

"Haruka-_san_. Good evening! ...Oh, we're fine, we're fine. Yako is with me—all right... Yes, yes. I am protecting her, ma'am." Neuro smiled and looked at Yako, nodding, "Your mother wants you."

Her hand reached out to her phone and she talked to her mother. Saying words of reassurance that they were fine, Haruka told Yako of the instructions to keep the house safe from any intruders or possible accidents, and to spare some of the food from the fridge—to which Yako awkwardly laughed.

As Yako listened on to her mother, Neuro was silently watching her with a calm gaze and a barely-there smile, his hand never leaving hers as she now talked.

He listened to her talk, and he slowly closed his eyes as he felt her hand smoothing out his hair, quietly enjoying the warmth her palm brought to his person.

* * *

><p>A quaint building draped in luxurious interiors lavished the restaurant near Shibuya, and a finely-dressed Yako was seated on one of the plush chairs provided near the entrance.<p>

After being called by the waiter to address her to her seat, Yako thanked the young man and sat, silently observing the cozy restaurant as she did so.

Neuro was not with her today, as he and her had a bit of a fight earlier just before she left her house.

It had been two days since Yako saw Aya in the cat café—and the reason why Yako and Neuro fought was partly because of something that she left out of her story that day.

Yako had talked to Aya for a fleeting chance, just before they left _Neko JaLaLa_, as opposed to what she said to Neuro that they didn't talk.

And right now, she felt guilty for lying to him.

I should apologize, was what she thought, as she bit her lips anxiously. She had never been used to fighting with Neuro—even if it was over a petty thing.

But today, he was rather, different, should she say.

She remembered what he looked like before she slammed the door and left with a heavy heart.

_He doesn't want me to see her in fear that she will harm me._

For the sake of an apology of sorts, she texted him, apologizing and promising to tell him everything when she returned home, and she turned on her hair clips and put on her choker.

Aya entered the restaurant looking as elegant as she had always been, and upon spotting Yako in a corner, her mood shifted to a happy one, and she smiled over to a worried-looking Yako as she greeted her.

"Hello, Katsuragi-_chan_, may I sit?"

Yako wiped the tear she didn't know she shed, and smiled as she motioned her to seat, "Please, do."

An awkward silence fell upon them, and it was only broken when a waiter approached them and gave them their menu.

They ordered their food—with Aya (and the waiter) trying not to look surprised at Yako who was ordering every food the menu had.

The waiter bowed and left, leaving Yako and Aya in a tense silence once more. Deciding that they would go nowhere with keeping their mouths shut the whole time, Aya and Yako spoke—in unison.

Silence shortly reigned.

"Uh, please, Aizawa-_san_, you first."

"Um, no. Please, you first."

Yako bit her lip and looked at the centerpiece of the table—a nice bowl of plastic fruits. "Well, if you insist. Um, why were you crying the other day? That is, if I'm not being intrusive and all and—"

Aya laughed, her dainty hand covering her smiling lips as she looked at the stunned face Yako had. "Oh, you are quite an amusing thing, Katsuragi-_chan!_ No wonder he chose you! And no, you're not being intrusive."

Yako observed Aya's smile, and surely, there were no signs of her smile reaching her ears. The tell-tale sign of crow's feet didn't crinkle her eyelids, either.

At the back of Yako's mind, she thought Aya was mocking her.

_Well, two can play that game._

"Well then, let me tell you a secret," and Aya looked from left to right, as though anyone might overhear the story she was about to tell. She leaned her elbows on the table, her fingers nestling her chin, and it looked to Yako as though Aya was forcing a smile once more. "I was a bit upset that time, you see. My mother—she did a bad thing."

"May I ask what's it about?" Yako asked, pretending to be interested in her seemingly long-winding tale, when in reality, Yako was already mentally throwing the table at Aya's face. _You're the reason why Neuro and I are fighting!_

"You _are_ quite aware of where Nougami-_san_ was raised, right?" and Aya nodded when Yako nodded. "Germany. That's where we came from. I was raised Düsseldorf, while he in Berlin. Or so my parents said where he was born. At six years old, Nougami-_san_ and I were supposed to meet formally for the first time. His parents and mine have always been adamant that our families should join to gain financially and—at that time, I had no power to disobey them. I mean, they're my _parents_. I'm _supposed_ to obey—but Nougami-_san_, I never met him there. He went away to a far away place, my mother said—two weeks before our families were supposed to meet. From what I've heard, his parents allowed him to go—provided that he will return one day to meet his bride."

Yako sat still in her seat as she held her breath, taking in every word she was hearing. She held her opinions to herself—yet her mind now swam with questions.

Aya continued on, and over time, her gestures became more animated, her expressions livelier and freer, her eyes brighter than Yako had ever seen—and by now, Aya was unraveling her true soul.

Fifteen minutes passed, and their meals arrived. As Aya's talking came to a momentary halt when the waiters placed their food on the table, Yako then complimented the chef in advance for making such a bountiful meal—for the eyes of a normal person, the food on Yako's enormous plate was a feast for five people, at least; but for Yako, it was not enough.

"So, you were saying that this journey of yours," Yako paused and slurped on her plate of spaghettini, wiping her mouth as she discreetly burped, "I'm guessing you want to convince Neuro to go with you, is that it?"

Aya's brown eyes widened just a tad, and her lips thinned, and if Yako looked at her closer, she would see Aya's shoulders tensing beneath her long-sleeved dress. From her critical eye, Yako could see Aya gulping.

Yako mentally smirked. _Jackpot._

* * *

><p>Neuro had been calling Yako the entire time since she left without a word of apology earlier―apology! He never knew their fight would come to this. Never had he become so upset with her decision until <em>now. Pacing anxiously to and fro, he pondered what events led to this disaster.<em>

He had always allowed her to go with her friends with his consent, yes, but with _Aizawa Aya_―that was another story. He'd have no control over what would happen to his little maggot if _that_ person were to harm her when he was not around and―

"Damn it...!" and Neuro threw his phone to her bed angrily, cursing even more when the phone bounced back and landed on the carpeted floor. He picked it up, and slammed it on her dresser instead. His teeth had been gnashing the whole time, fists clenched and eyebrows tightly drawn and eyes looking ready to kill any moment.

He glared at his phone once more, as if it were the little thing's fault why he was so angry at everything at this moment. Growling, he dialed her number again, huffing when the operator went to voicemail.

"Fucking technology. Not doing its stupid task."

And he paced the room once more, growing more and more anxious at each passing second―and at the back of his mind, he begrudgingly admitted he was _worried_―he was close to yelling, chucking everything his eyes met to the wall. The only thing that kept him from unleashing his anger on the inanimate things was that this house was her _parents_' house―and he respected them, no matter what.

He restlessly ran a hand through his mussed up hair―he needed to think, think, _think!_

_Yako instructed me not to go where she is. Not to go! What kind of order is that! Moreover, why am I obeying? I'm her Master, not the other way around!_

"She should be here with me where it's safe."

Finally deciding on a newfound resolve to follow Yako, he checked his phone and looked up at where she was, and he heaved a sigh of relief. "It's near from here," and his lips curled to a tired yet relieved smile, his shoulders sagging and his facial features relaxing, "following her should be easy enough."

He hurried in dressing up to "fetch his helpless maggot from the clutches of the temptress of a siren"―as he dubbed in his mind, and Neuro quickly pocketed his phone, the keys of the house and his wallet. He decided that he wouldn't need his Swiss knives for today, as he was in too much of a hurry to secure them in his person, so he left them in his bag, in her room.

Rapidly stomping down the stairs and feeling the blood pumping adrenaline rush in his cold ears as he put on his shoes, Neuro failed to realize the familiar, blaring sound of his phone as he hurriedly opened the front door.

A feeling of sudden warmth and numbness pooled at his stomach, and his face went cold as he gulped.

There, standing by the door, was an eerily smiling Jody Tubulik, looking dirtier and creepier than he had ever been―

―and there, in his tan and callous hand, was a knife, lunged into Neuro's stomach.

"Oh, why hello. If it isn't Nougami-_san?_ Say, my favorite student—_did you miss me?_"

* * *

><p>Aya knew, at some point, that Yako would realize her real intentions of pursuing Neuro. The smaller female wasn't dumb―that much she knew.<p>

So when Yako brought up the subject altogether, Aya knew what she herself had to say.

"Yes. I want him to go with me." Her words were simple enough to flow out of her lips, but her heart and mind screamed for her not to do it. _He will be angered if he knew about this._

Yako held a deep breath, and seemed to look calm enough from Aya's perspective; but little did she know that a fragment of Yako's mind seemed to tear out and cry as well. She looked away from Aya.

"You do know that I will fight for him, right?" and a pained pair of warm brown eyes seemed to stare at Aya's soul. Yako had her jaw clenched, and she fought back a tear. _Why does it have to be him that you will take from me!_

Aya nodded, and her mouth seemed to form a word left unsaid, but instead, she took out a crumpled paper from her purse, and when she laid it on the table to flatten it, Yako realized that it was, in fact, a picture, slightly faded by time. The white fold lines and folded edges made the picture seemed older than it should really be. She handed it to Yako with a melancholic smile.

"This is him when he was small. The date written on the back is kind of faded, sorry―it says March 10, 1998. He was three years old back then. Aomi-_chan_ gave it to me, you see. He said that Nougami-_san_ will be my prince one day. And... Well, it didn't happen as I had hoped, seeing as he made it clear that he wants you to be his wife." She mustered a pained laugh, fighting back a tear about to fall from her watery eyes, "I―want you to have it, Katsuragi-_chan_. As a piece of his past that you should know."

Yako quietly took it in her small hands, looking and inspecting the picture as though it were a special treasure. Fingertips grazed against the outlines of a blond-and-black locked little boy smiling at the camera, his eyes well-concealed by the crow's feet that graced his features. A tooth was missing as he smiled. He wore a white shirt and a pair of dark blue shorts. He had a pair of healthy legs, he had a scrape on his right knee, and he had tiny feet, which were donned by black little sneakers. Behind him was a scenery of a green meadow beneath a blue sky, and on the far left of the picture was a part of a building―or a mansion, it seemed.

And Yako's mouth formed into a little smile as she looked at the three-year-old Neuro. "He's so tiny..." and just like that, her anger almost faded away. Just the mere sight of a little Neuro made Yako's heart fill with joy, for a reason she did not know.

Aya nodded solemnly, brown eyes smiling at Yako, "I consider it my most precious gift―and I want you to take care of it. I know you will." As she looked at Yako's apparent awe and face full of smiles, Aya's sights set on the sparkling ring that adorned Yako's finger.

"That is a nice ring. You two chose it?"

Yako's attention then turned to her ring, and as though on a fixed form of habit, her fingertips smoothed gently over the expensive stones and smiled. "He made it for me. He made one for himself too, saying it will be our wedding rings once we planned our future thoroughly enough," and she looked at Aya with a smile, and she frowned when the long-haired woman looked at her engagement ring sadly.

A choked sob made its way through Aya's broken voice.

"I will have to give him up someday, I see."

And the two women sat in silence, each pondering about the man who held their hearts.

* * *

><p>It was already nearing six-thirty in the evening when Aya and Yako parted ways after they made their truce, with heavy feelings in their hearts. Aya seemed at peace when they parted, and Yako didn't know if that was a good thing or not.<p>

Heaving a sigh as she made her way back home, she saw a man by the streets that she and Neuro usually pass by, he was crouching by himself as passersby ignored him.

With wisps of greasy, shoulder-length hair and a concealed face dirtied by soot and grime, the man hugged himself and groaned―probably in hunger, Yako mused. Donned in a black jacket and tattered slacks, the man coughed out blood. Yako grimaced and briskly walked away, slightly looking at the other side of the streets as to avoid the sight of blood pooling at the palm of the man's hand.

It was just a fleeting glance as she walked by.

After crossing the streets, the first thing that Yako did was to take out her phone from her purse―and saw that she had a dozen of missed calls, along with five texts, all from Neuro, telling her to go home and talk things over with him.

Yako bit her lip, and as though she were talking to him, she smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes. We'll talk. I'm coming home."

She walked towards the familiar path to her house, and noted that something was a bit off.

The usual gray walls that surrounded the perimeter of her house were tinted with dashes of red, and on the pavement were questionable drops of red.

Her mind drove with possible solutions, a lot of maybes and what-ifs as she rushed to open the―

"―already open?"

Yako held back a gasp as she pushed open the front door smeared with blood.

There, on the floor, was a putrid and sickening pool of red.

Trying to keep her calm, she took out a dagger concealed beneath her dress―taught to her by Mutsuki―and silently muttered Neuro's name. Cold sweat broke from her forehead as she followed the trail of stench and the alarming drops of red.

The trail led her upstairs, where the fetid smell was the strongest―

―in her room.

Without a second thought, she kicked her bedroom door open, dagger ready to launch at a possible intruder and―

She dropped the dagger the moment her eyes fell on her now scarlet bed―and a figure laid almost dead to the world, a gash all too deep and seeing on his crippled stomach.

"_Neuro!_"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Let the drama begin. *takes virtual cookies and goes into hiding*

_Neko JaLaLa_ is an actual cat café in Akihabara, for those of you who don't know it—and no, I have never been into one of those cafés. What I wouldn't give to go there. T^T Also, '_Schlampe. Bitte. Geh und stirb'_ literally means 'Bitch. Please. Go and die.' And yes we all know Neuro is a demon, I just want him to have a bit of foreign blood in this fic because, well, he is a human in this one. Why Germany, you ask? Fufu~ that's a secret for now. :3

The song Godai tried to sing (or slur, actually) was the first part of _Nightmare_'s "_Dirty_", which we all know is MTNN's opening theme.

For those who don't know what the legend of red paper and blue paper is (or Aka Manto in native Japanese), I suggest you turn to the power of the internet and search for it. It's one of the stories in Japan that creeped me out when I was in fifth grade. D:

Now go review, readers~ *munches on a cookie*


	22. Cruentas

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

****A/N: ****Re-uploaded because of a major error. Thank you to Niry for bringing it up~! :D *bows*

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Two: Cruentas <strong>

* * *

><p>It was already eleven o'clock in the evening.<p>

Mutsuki stood near the door, looking incensed as she glanced at a bandaged gash on the man she admired—who looked almost dead to the world until a few hours ago. Little pearly whites gritted at the sight of a pale and unconscious Neuro lying in one of the best rooms in the hospital. Beside him, an equally pale and bloated-looking Yako slept on the chair leaning against the whitewashed walls, her eyes puffy and her whole countenance screaming anguish for over the last five hours as her hand firmly held onto Neuro's deathly pale one.

"How long did it take you to them?" Mutsuki's voice was a stark contrast to her usual lilting and childish one―her tone now held coldness, of bare restraint, of something dark lying within. She now stood beside the weakly breathing Neuro, observing the pads and bandages that hid the fateful wound.

Yukinori sat on a chair near the foot of the bed, his face twisted in a wrench of anger as he played with his pocket knife. "About ten minutes. Fortunately, I was in the area playing pachinko. At first, I didn't understand a thing Katsuragi was saying, something about blood and Nougami instructing her to call me. So I rushed over to her house―good thing I have all the students' addresses."

Mutsuki hummed, a lone eyebrow raised as she rearranged the hem of her dress. She wore a black and white maid headdress decked with bows and frills on the edges. On her arms were a pair of loose-looking fingerless gloves, which reached up to her elbows. She wore her favorite black boots for tonight―she had her reasons. "Good thing I gave her ten packets of Celox beforehand, just in case something like this would happen."

"Why'd ya give her _Celox_, of all things?"

"It's a great first-aid solution for wounds. As you can see. At first, I only thought to give her those because of the recent theft incident―but I didn't know they would become of use because of _this_. If _nee-chan_ didn't immediately use them on him, Neuro-_nii_ wouldn't last long. How is the house?"

"_Aniki_ and Godai are there. They know their job. Blood was everywhere, I tell ya. I was surprised I didn't see 'er panicking so much as I thought she would."

"_Nee-chan_ is a strong person."

"That she is. Katsuragi said before Nougami completely passed out, he tightly held his Swiss knife in his right hand, and it was coated in blood. Like I would believe that blood is his. I'm sure it's from the attacker. Nougami tried to give the man a blow more fatal than his, I'm sure of it."

"Any leads to him, then?"

Yukinori shook his head, sighing, "None yet. But expect _aniki_ by tomorrow to have his hound dogs on the prowl in all of Tokyo with the force of a thousand suns. He couldn't have this incident get out of hand―not when second term is about to end. It will be another scandal. Nougami is the school's idol. An incident like this will bring havoc to the Board. Godai will be cleaning up the blood, by the way."

"I wouldn't really care about that right now. I want the bastard's head on a silver plate and offer it to Neuro-_nii_."

"Tsk, tsk. You're getting a bad mouth, young'un. What will your gramps say to this when he hears his precious and innocent granddaughter knows how to swear?"

"I hear him swearing all the time in his office when he thinks I'm not within the area. I picked it up from him. And you."

The door opened once more, and Haruka and Seiichi burst in, panting and sweating. "Where's Neuro?" they asked worriedly, and when Yukinori pointed behind him, Haruka came over to the sleeping man and almost cried.

"Please don't disturb their sleep," Mutsuki chided with an apathetic face, her gaze now locked on the sweat-faced Haruka.

Haruka absentmindedly nodded and her hand shakily smoothed out Neuro's hair instead, forcing back a sob as she saw and felt smears of blood caked onto his usually well-kept hair. Seiichi patted his daughter's head with a frown, and he looked at his son-in-law-to-be. There was an intravenous drip stand beside Neuro, and two IV lines were attached to his right arm, giving him necessary fluids―

Yako then woke up with a jolt, and the first thing she saw was her father looking worse for wear. Gasping, her tired eyes then snapped to Neuro, fully expecting him to wake and look at her with the ethereal green eyes and with that proud smile she so loved, and she gave way to a heavy sigh when she saw that his eyes were still closed.

She will never forget how Neuro looked earlier when she found him in her room―the first thing that she had noticed was the gaping wound on the right side of his stomach, then to his mouth that had hung open, then to his arm that had been draped over the edge of her bed, then onto the Swiss knife that he had tightly held in his pale right hand. She could remember him barely breathing at all when she heard him whisper her name.

Those blank green eyes back then―they were looking at the ceiling, as though he were dead.

Yako wept since then. It was only on Neuro's barely audible instructions and her pure instinct alone that she managed to patch him up properly before Yukinori arrived to help them.

People from the underground are helpful when it comes to quick first-aid procedures, as Neuro once said―and it proved to be true in this case.

She held his hand to her still cold and dampened cheek, sighing with lament, whispering words of regret. "I never should have left. I never should have left," she repeatedly mumbled to herself as tears welled up in her eyes once more.

"Yako, take a rest. We'll watch over―"

"No, Mother. I'll stay. I'll stay―he needs me―he needs me―h-he needs me―"

Yukinori looked away from Yako, his face contorted in a grimace at the sight. He was now standing near the bed, and had given his chair to Seiichi. "Katsuragi," he started, his eyes still averted from the quietly sobbing Yako, "you haven't eaten anything―at least eat someth―"

"No. I won't move from here un-until he wakes up―I'll stay and won't leav―"

The stern voice of her father put Yako out of her trance state. "At least eat some porridge, dear. If you want to see Neuro, you have to keep yourself healthy―I won't have the two of you getting sick while I'm alive. Now, eat up! Here, I brought some porridge. Miwako made it. Eat, eat! Also, you two, you are my daughter's friends, yes? Here, take a seat and eat up. Thank you for staying with them," and he bowed, to which Yukinori and Mutsuki returned the gesture with tight-lipped smiles, and they took up Seiichi's offer with a whisper of thanks.

Haruka looked at her daughter, and she bit her lip. "Yako, do you have a change of clothing? You have blood all over your dress―"

The sound of wood slamming to the wall was heard, and everyone became startled as a panting Shinobu came bursting through the door, walking towards the room like a bow-legged man.

"House is all cleaned, Boss! Blood's now gone and all. 'Twas all over the place, I tell ya. Oh right. Th'principal will be here any minute with the fuzz," and a beaming Shinobu awkwardly went over to Yako and handed her a bag as he looked at the window. "Clothes from yer closet, li'l missy. The boss's girl helped in picking out the stuff. She'll be here soon with 'im."

Yako couldn't help but smile weakly as she took the bag from his callous hand, "Thanks, Godai-_san_. Thanks, everyone―"

A loud wail suddenly resounded from outside, and a growling, bawling Zera came rushing in, followed by two nurses trying hard to restrain and push him away from the room. The burly transvestite struggled with all his might as manly as he could despite the too-feminine maid uniform he wore.

"Don't try to stop me, you spawns of the devil! I am Neuro-_sama_'s caretaker and―watch where yar touching, fatso!"

The bellowing of Zera's all-too-gruff-and-growling voice echoed from the walls of the room, his wails bouncing off to the hallway―

―a faint groan was heard from the sickbed.

"_...I'm trying to sleep..._"

Upon hearing his voice, Yako's face lit up and she stood quickly, crying with joy as she hugged Neuro with fervor. "Neuro, you're awake!"

Neuro grumbled, his eyes still tightly shut as he draped his left hand on his face. "Make that squealing pig stop, please..."

And Yako smiled, her tears now drying from her cheeks as she nodded happily, "You must still be in a bad shape if you're actually saying 'please'." And she looked at Zera with a broad grin, her eyes now twinkling with happiness, "Aomi-_san?_ Please be quiet. The patients are not fond of hearing your voice."

A nurse decided to pipe up a squeak, something about a reprimand against visitors overstepping the boundaries of the visiting hours―

Yukinori sighed as he ate his bowl of porridge and spoke, "Geh. Let him go. He's not harmful to us."

The other nurse tried to reason out, "But visiting hours are―"

"Did you hear what I just said? Let the gay guy go. I order you."

The nurses looked at each other with worried faces, then abruptly released Zera, and the nurses bowed.

"We apologize for our impudence, Yukinori-_sama_," and they hastily went away, leaving everyone in the room―save for Neuro, Shinobu and Mutsuki―looking at Yukinori with surprised stares.

"...His brother owns the hospital if all of you are wondering," Neuro weakly muttered in curt explanation, his eyes still covered by his arm.

* * *

><p>A Sunday morning—and Yako had only gotten stolen moments of sleep. Neuro had woken up earlier than the doctor expected. After eating only the porridge that Seiichi brought, along with a thermos of hot water for tea, Neuro had fallen fast asleep, not before saying a few words for Yako alone―"<em>At least it wasn't you who got stabbed. Our fighting actually did something good, little slave...<em>"

Yako held back her tears after hearing him utter those words; she had kept on mumbling to herself as he nuzzled his neck with a sorrowful cry―"_If only I didn't go, if only I didn't go, none of this would have happened..._"

Haruka and Seiichi had only been listening from the outside discreetly, their backs turned to the door, and when Zera had taken a peek through the window, (s)he saw Yako kissing Neuro on the lips.

The young couple had slept peacefully after a few minutes of talking—their bodies snuggled next to each other like any other night.

Foggy memories from her house resurfaced as Yako's sleep-deprived eyes stared at Neuro's sleeping form. He still looked pale―as he had lost a lot of blood―his lips were chapped, his chest rose and fell slowly, and his hair was still caked with the remnants of his own blood.

She was now fixing their breakfast, and hopefully, Neuro would wake up soon enough to eat his share of food.

The door opened and Mutsuki entered the room, looking a bit happier than yesterday's events.

"Kana-_nee_ will be here again. She brought you your clothes from yesterday, they're now blood-free, she says," and she hummed as she entered the room and put a basket of fruits on the table near the sickbed. "How is he?"

Yako smiled and wiped her weary eyes, squinting as the sunrays bathed the room. It occurred to Mutsuki that Yako had cried again. "Still sleeping. He woke up twice earlier to go to the washroom, but it seems he forgot to wash the mess in his hair."

Mutsuki giggled and dug into her rabbit-shaped bag, and handed Yako another dozen packets of Celox inside a plastic bag. "For Neuro-_nii_ and you."

Yako took it and looked at the contents, thanking her with a relieved smile, "He could have died if it weren't for these. I―don't know how to thank you, Mutsuki-_tan_. Really..."

Mutsuki blushed and shook her head, waving her hands frantically in front of her as she did so. "I did nothing, _nee-chan_. Just provided you supplies my grandfather has. We have lots at home."

"Why do you have these anyway, if I may ask? These are military stuff."

"That's because Grandfather receives a lot of death threats over the toy company. He uses everything he could to keep his life―and mine―safe."

Yako nodded and smiled, "Is that so. That means you have to look out for yourself too, Mutsuki-_tan_."

Mutsuki giggled and swayed on the balls of her booted feet, her hands hidden behind her back as a strange calm graced her youthful features. "Of course I will, _nee-chan_. You and Neuro-_nii_ need my strength. Most people may not know it―but I can be a lethal weapon if I want to."

The way Mutsuki said her last statement made Yako pause and blink. Mutsuki had merely tilted her head to one side and smiled sweetly as she had always done so in the past, but Yako couldn't shake the feeling of slight unease―on whether the little teen was telling the truth or not.

When Yako didn't respond as Mutsuki thought she would, she pursed her lips, and her smile fell as her eyes became a tad darker. "I'll bring you his head, _nee-chan_. I'll bring it to you and Neuro-_nii_. And no person will come to hurt you two ever again. I swear."

* * *

><p>"Finals for this term is coming, Yako. You have to go to school for next week, at least. After that, you can return to the hospital and―"<p>

"I can't just leave him, Kanae. What if he tracks us down―what if he tries to really kill him this time?"

Yako and Kanae were sitting outside Neuro's room unit, talking about the recent trauma and of schoolwork. Mutsuki was inside the room, watching over the sleeping Neuro like a mannequin-esque bodyguard. Her face was void of any emotion, her gloved arms placed firmly behind her back.

The soft prickles of something sharp grazed over the heels of her bitty palms.

"We'll bring you your exams in the hospital, then. Hisanori-_jii_ can make exceptions," said Mutsuki loudly. Unknown to Yako and Kanae, the little teen had been listening to them the whole time.

* * *

><p>It was a busy Monday morning.<p>

Aside from performing his usual duties as the school principal, Hisanori had been extra careful of his actions since Saturday―the amount of blood in the Katsuragi residence had been overwhelming, so much that the man had thought that his student had died there and then. Though, when Hisanori had arrived at the hospital last Saturday (mid)night, he was relieved when he saw Neuro sleeping soundly beside Yako (who had somehow inexplicably found her way on his bed despite the protocol of letting the patient sleep alone).

Neuro had been on the edge of death, and it was a miracle that he survived, the doctor had said.

The principal had issued a decree to his men as soon as he heard those words. After lending Yukinori four of his most trusted bodyguards (who then lent said bodyguards to Yako for protection), Hisanori had ordered an all-out search-and-destroy operation for one Jody Tubulik. After hearing the gruesome story from Neuro and Yako, it was more than enough reason to order the Turk's demise.

The police had been involved, too―albeit secretly―as he was originally their suspect for the murder of Jennifer Ewing. Eishi and Jun collaborated with Hisanori―the laws between the police and the yakuzas became temporarily blurred, all for the hunt of this one man.

"It is for the welfare of the students if we do this search-and-destroy thing discreetly, sir. And provide a sort of control to the students. They know something's wrong with their idols. In the hallway earlier, I heard two girls from the freshmen division asking a classmate of Nougami's about Neuro and Yako's absence. The freshmen thought something bad happened to them. Well, we know that's true―but that's out of the question. They don't know the entire story, but their ears are sharp for any news about them. And any news about their idols will quickly spread in the whole school. And if word goes about Neuro being stabbed and hospitalized for it, then we can only speculate what these hormonal teenagers will do. They might boycott classes to search for Neuro's perpetrator, or the students' parents might issue another protest about the whole thing. I mean, there's still the Ewing case, and all of these recent incidents happened in your school, Hayasaka-_san_. Besides, I can see why those freshmen girls would ask such a thing―those two never take absences together. If one is absent, then the other will fill in for the other's absence. I should know, that's how Neuro and Yako are―I was their teacher in third grade, after all," Jun shrugged nonchalantly, and he returned his focus on scribbling a picture of a puppy on his notepad. The principal's office felt stuffier than usual, and the teacher slash cop just _had_ to do something to distract himself.

Hisanori nodded as his jaw and fists clenched on his desk. Jun had a point―the operation should be executed with discretion. As the police and Hisanori have agreed upon, there were now undercover policemen littered within the perimeter of the school, some on the streets of Shibuya, and some near the neighborhoods of the district.

"Jody Tubulik conceals himself well. Thinking that he could outrun us," Eishi said, and he chewed on his unlit cigarette, his blank black eyes looking at the windows behind the agitated principal.

"He has a debt to pay, Officer, and I want him to pay with his life for staining the name of the school I've worked hard upon," and just like that, Hisanori's fox-like smile returned, and Eishi was sure the enigmatic principal was planning something sinister.

* * *

><p>"Good day, Nougami, Katsuragi."<p>

"Ah, hello, Neuro, Yako! I bought you some manga from Jump to entertain you!"

Yako and Neuro blinked upon seeing Eishi and Jun standing by the doorway, and Yako smiled and bowed in greeting.

The policemen had almost caught the teenagers making out―

―thank goodness for sharp hearing and fast reflexes.

"What brings you two here?" Yako asked with a squeak, her face still flushed as she tried to busy herself about. Neuro looked pissed as he glared at Eishi—and Yako knew why.

"Just dropping by," cheered Jun, humming as he placed the manga, along with two boxes of cream puffs, on the nearby table.

"But you didn't have to, Jun-_sensei_," said Yako as she stood up and took the box of cream puffs and began to eat immediately.

Neuro merely chuckled. "For someone who says 'you didn't have to', you do have some shameless manners in eating."

Yako, who now had her mouth full of puffs, pouted and quickly swallowed her food with an audible gulp, and she put two puffs—a cherry-filled one and a butter-filled one—in Neuro's mouth and smiled triumphantly at the sight of his swollen cheeks. The latter didn't seem to mind at all, as he shrugged and chewed silently.

"You two seem to like it," observed Eishi casually, his teeth nipping on the edge of his unlit cigarette. "I tried one earlier. It's too sweet for my tastes."

Yako hummed and nodded, sucking on the edges of her thumb as she offered Neuro another puff, to which the latter accepted, and he ate it in between her candle-like fingers languidly and rather noisily—he noticed how Jun and Eishi seemed to be taken aback at the action. A bit of the vanilla cream spilled from the bite-sized puff, the thick liquid escaping from Neuro's lips, down to his chin, then to Yako's fingers.

The scene seemed disturbing to the policemen enough, as Neuro started to lick off the sweet sauce from her digits.

Yako tried to pull her hand away with an awkward laugh at the older men, but Neuro was stubborn—even going as far as to nip her index and middle fingers and slowly coat them in his saliva as he made eye contact with her.

_Let me have my way_, those eyes tried to say.

Yako seemed to get his unspoken message, and her face went beet red as she looked at those salacious onyx-jade eyes. He bared his fanged teeth at her as he smirked and lapped up on her now sans vanilla cream fingers.

All the while, Jun gulped and couldn't look away from the risqué display and Eishi cleared his throat, yet Neuro merely hummed and moaned as he made sucking noises on Yako's now too-moist thumb.

"N-Neuro," she stammered, her eye twitching at his lack of manners, "my fingers are clean now, thank you...! Now, let go of me, please?"

Surprisingly, he did as she asked, not before letting go of her thumb with a satisfying _pop_ and an audible purr.

Neuro grinned at a madly blushing Yako, his fanged teeth glinting at her, and he looked at Eishi's expression—

—a complete face of apathy.

Neuro almost huffed.

_Well, that was a letdown._

He leaned back onto the bed, his freshly-washed hair splaying on the fluffed out pillows, and Neuro held Yako by the waist instead, effectively pulling her close to him once more.

"So, Sasazuka-_san_, Jun-_sensei_. What brings you here aside from checking out our condition?" Neuro's tone was light and cheerful as he nuzzled Yako's head while he spoke. She merely sighed and gave in and let him have his way for now.

Jun's senseless stuttering and fidgeting was too obvious, and Eishi's continuous clearing of throat was becoming bothersome to Neuro.

"Let me guess," Neuro started, his gesture thoughtful as he poised his middle finger on his chin, his jade-obsidian eyes cast upwards with a lopsided grin, "you will try to convince us to capture The Corpse? ...Oh right, I'm sorry. I forgot people call him Tubulik. It's just that—he stinks worse than human excrement, actually."

Eishi tried to butt in and say an opinion about the matter, but Neuro merely ignored him as he continued. "No need to try and convince us, Officers."

Neuro's ethereal green eyes widened in that unique and frightening way of his, and he felt the rush of satisfaction as Jun stepped back. The sadistic young man had always liked scaring the wits out of this particular teacher.

Yako, in turn, draped an arm around Neuro loosely, and smiled in her own sweetly deceiving way, her honey-brown eyes becoming just a tad dimmer, with a hint of an underlying secret sneering from her glossed lips as she spoke in a sing-song voice.

"We'll take up the offer to take him down."

* * *

><p>A week passed by, and Neuro remained hospitalized with Yako and her family and friends taking turns in catering to his basic needs. Neuro and Yako were granted permission to take their final exams in the hospital, as Mutsuki had initially suggested, provided that they were monitored by their homeroom teacher and their principal during their exam hours. Their tests were to be taken at the same day and at the same time as their schoolmates, so nothing of any sort of far-fetched cheating may occur between the couple and the students who might want to help their idols in any way they could—their knowledge in advanced technology could be used to their advantage, as Hisanori said with his fox-like smile. Neuro and Yako had quickly agreed to the conditions.<p>

The four bodyguards lent to them by the Hayasaka brothers were doing fine in their performing their duties, and the siblings made sure that the security in the whole hospital was tighter than before.

On his second week in the hospital, Neuro started to slowly walk on his own again without cringing in pain for every move he made—as the knife used against him had almost punctured his colon—and his short trips to the nearest toilet were becoming easier as he walked. Only on certain occasions did he need Yako—or either Shinobu or Yukinori or even Seiichi (much to Neuro's embarrassment)—to assist him to the washroom.

Now lying in bed with Neuro's little maggot to keep him company, the silence they shared was a bit of an intimate affair, and only the buzz of the lights and the shifting of cloth on the sheets and the occasional inaudible conversation of people outside the room served as their background noise. Neuro had just had his IV drip replaced with a new one earlier, and Yako was extra careful to give her fiancé his share of food; she had inadvertently eaten his share earlier, and Neuro had retaliated by pinching her in the cheek.

Yako looked at Neuro's stomach, which was concealed by the hospital gown that he wore. "Does it still hurt badly?" she asked as her hand carefully touched the bandaged and injured area through the thin fabric, and she jerked her hand away when Neuro tensed.

She only received a stern glare from him. Yako bit her lip, "Sorry," and she moved her hand to his upper arm instead, nuzzling her head on his chin in the process. He closed his eyes and let his senses be filled with her scent as he held her.

"I can't move properly with this thing on my arm. It's irritating me," and he glared at the little plastic tubes stuck on his right arm and gave it a little shake, wincing as he moved it too hard, and he rested his arm back on the bed.

"You have to have it. It can help you recover faster. And don't pout at me."

Neuro let out a heavy sigh and nuzzled his cheek to her hair, "Once I get my body back to its healthy state, I'll make sure I'll tear him limb from limb."

Yako huffed, coiling her arm around him a tad tighter than necessary, "If I see him, I'll rip out his man-parts and watch him bleed. Or maybe I'll cut off his balls and offer them to you or something."

Neuro hummed, "Or maybe we can make a new type of food with that. But they might be laden with cancer stuff. Just looking at his face screams cancer to me."

Yako pursed her lips, her expression genuinely thoughtful, "Yeah, I'll pick the one where I could see him bleed to death."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Becoming a sadist, are we? Such a terrible person you're becoming."

"Yes, yes I am becoming a terrible person. Happy? I want that man to be drilled with holes or something. If it weren't for him trying to break in my house for reasons who-knows-what, then we wouldn't be here in the first place!"

He hummed and pecked her cheek, smiling as he whispered to her ear, "Hm, I see you have gotten feisty, kitten. Do you care about me that much?"

"Of course I care, dumbass! If I didn't care, then why would I even be here? Sheesh. What kind of question is that?"

"Heh. Just making sure your eyes are not straying from me," and he kissed her forehead with a smile.

* * *

><p>After eight days of being confined in the hospital, Neuro was now back in his house for a bit of a renovation.<p>

With his body still healing from Jody's attack, Neuro had come up with certain ways to get back at him.

Yako looked at her smiling fiancé incredulously, her expression blank and her mouth curled in a frown as her hand gestured to the body-building equipment littered about in one of the spare rooms his house had. "You're building a gym in your home—really. Just—really. Seriously, Neuro? Your wound is not even fully healed and you're building a gym!"

"Ssh. Shut it, bread crust. Let the worker do his job. A little over to the right, birdbrain! ...There. Now, what were you saying, Yako?"

"Neuro, there are a number of ways to catch that nuclear stench—"

"And one of the ways to catch said _nuclear stench_, as you put it, is to prepare our bodies properly in case of another attack. _You_ will also participate, if you didn't get my drift."

"B-but—my body is just fine! I don't want to be like a walking, bulky, muscle-y, manly-looking female!"

Neuro harrumphed, his arms now loosely crossed as he regarded her with amusement, "And who says you're going to look like a manly-looking female? I'm not going to do that. That would be too revolting for my eyes, thank you very much. Besides, we only need you to get toned. You need to burn some of your cellulite—"

Yako gasped. "How many times do I have to tell you? I—don't—have—cellulite!" and she balled her fists and stomped her socked foot with each word, growling and glaring at the now grinning Neuro with her red-faced expression of annoyance—and he found it to be amusing to look at.

He chuckled and pinched her reddened cheeks, grinning broadly when she struggled and garbled incoherencies in his grasp, "Of course you don't. I've been spanking you roughly for the past three years—and you like it very much, I can tell—but maybe that unsightly fat in your bubble butt has been distributed all over you and is now sloshing about in other parts of your frail body as we speak. It must have been making tidal waves in your hippo thighs, for example."

"Grrmmph—gah!"

He beamed and lifted her up by her armpits, and carefully placed her on his forearm, so as to not lean any of her bones on his still healing wound. He nuzzled his face on the softness of her bosom, closing his eyes as he did so. He calmly listened to the steady thumping of her heartbeat, and he smiled when he felt Yako wrap her arms around his nape.

"Everything I'm doing is for our sake, Yako. Everything," he whispered to her chest, and he heard her sigh—smiling as she wrapped her arms around him tighter. "And I can tell your chest has gotten a wee bit bigger and softer," he paused, and he looked at her sweater that concealed the current topic of conversation, "but I can feel they're still perky—"

"That's the real reason why you hugged me like this, huh."

"Heh."

* * *

><p>Neuro wasted no time in teaching Yako the basics of cramming school lessons in her mind. After seeing that she nearly failed her Science exam, he made it a task to stay in the Katsuragi house for the rest of the winter break just to be her personal tutor—as he had always been. And he did it while they were doing anything together—eating, brushing their teeth, getting dressed, keeping Neuro's wound-healing in check (Yako always did the honor of doing so), right before going to sleep—and before they knew it, January was fast approaching.<p>

Today was a Thursday, and Neuro decided to let Yako off the hook with all of the studying, as he was feeling a bit under the weather all because of his stitches.

They were in Yako's room, as was their norm, and Neuro was reading one of the books bought to him by Seiichi, for once. The elder male had long noticed the younger's thirst for knowledge, both new and old, and had decided to finally buy him a stash of books about world history and about otherworldly conditions and the odd behavior of humans—they were a small gift of compensation for always taking care of Yako, as Seiichi had said. Neuro, in turn, had thanked him wholeheartedly, and as soon as he glanced at the first few pages of some of the books, he immediately found them to be quite interesting, and had read through all twenty books since then.

"Just three days before the start of the third term. Neuro, aren't you excited? We'll be university students soon!"

He snorted and placed his book to one side, and he pushed up his shirt, glaring at his stitches, "Psh. Yeah right. Make sure you pass the exams on the third term first."

"Hmph. That was a low blow," Yako pouted, and she went over to Neuro to put topical cream on his now bandage-free stitches. She knelt on the floor and idly observed the healing wound. It felt a bit rough and bumpy to the touch, and she would have to find something to make the soon-to-be scar go away. "Is it still itchy?"

"Not much than before. I'd say it's a bit of progress. But I hate it that whenever I move, I feel my skin stretching like taffy."

She smiled, "It's a sign that you're healing, silly. Here, let's put some ointment on that." She hummed as she rubbed the cold and sticky substance on his skin, noting the way he tried to hide his small twitch as her ointment-laden finger grazed over the raised skin. She could feel his eyes focusing solely on her every move, and she kissed his hand as soon as she was done.

"That was fast," he commented dryly, yet still, he smiled.

"I just applied ointment on it. It's _supposed_ to be fast."

He tried to say something when the door opened and Miwako popped in with her usual cheer. "Dinner is ready!"

And so the two went downstairs and ate with the rest of the household. The family talked mostly about Neuro's injury, and their thoughts about what they would do should they happen to come across the Turk. Neuro was delighted with their suggestions, to say the least.

"—and I think I will skin him alive for harming our Neuro!" Haruka exclaimed, her brows furrowed in anger over what happened.

Seiichi laughed despite her remark, and he slapped Neuro on the back and gave him a fatherly hug, "It's a good thing that he is strong. Right, m'boy? If he weren't strong enough and something very terrible happened to him, then I'm afraid I would have to find that person and cut off that bastard's most precious manh—"

"How did the conversation turn out to be so morbid all of a sudden?" mumbled Yako to a grinning Neuro, to which he merely shrugged and brushed off her comment with a chuckle as he whispered to her ear.

"I dunno. But I think I now know where you got your mindset on fantasizing of killing 'Smelly Corpse'."

Yako elbowed him on the arm playfully. "Shut up."

"Heh."

* * *

><p>January. It was the start of the third term of their senior year, and Neuro was back to his full health, though Yako still insisted that he shouldn't force his body on doing strenuous activities for the next few weeks—his recent interest in body-building and his nightly rounds of playing rough with her would have to be minimized for a while, and so Neuro had decided to settle himself with cuddling Yako for the meantime every night before sleeping—not that Yako complained at all.<p>

On the first day of the third term alone, word had already gotten out that Neuro and Yako would most likely pursue a career in criminology, and the students' rise in interest about their school idols surged the moment they heard that Neuro had been injured. From where they got the news that he had been injured, no one will ever know.

Neuro and Yako brushed off their classmates and schoolmates' overwhelming concern with polite smiles and words of reassurance that they were fine. Yako, for the most part, had received triple the amount of food than she had been receiving the year before, and she felt as though she was a deity that everyone feared at. Neuro, on the other hand, had received a large amount of reading material from his classmates, ranging from monthly magazines to manga to books about _ukiyo-e_ and even the most explicit _shunga_.

Neuro and Yako merely looked at the _shunga_ with twitching eyes and faces contorted in a disgusted grimace.

During break time, Neuro didn't hesitate for a second to burn all of them at the back of the school with his lighter. Yako didn't object at all, unsurprisingly.

Once they have taken their lunch at the school roof with their friends, Neuro and Yako went to the library to borrow some books for their next class, as cramming for studies and for the university exams were becoming more and more frequent now that it was the third term.

The library was filled with senior students studying everywhere, and there were only few juniors and freshmen talking in the corners or doing their homework on the cramped up space on the tables—there were few who only slept.

Like Shinobu.

Neuro grinned and shoved his foot on the sleeping man's face, "You're on my seat, sloth." And Neuro pushed Shinobu to the floor, making the man wake up with a start and go on a cursing spree—Shinobu only stopped abruptly when he saw that it was Neuro who pushed him.

"Whaddya want, Monster?"

"What I want is for you to get away from my sight and sleep your lazy ass somewhere else. Probably the nearest trash dump would do you just fine since you are also trash," Neuro said, his blank smile now in place as he sat on the chair Shinobu just occupied mere seconds ago.

The bleach-haired male immediately stood and gave Neuro the finger, "Thefuck, you asshole! Ya just took my seat—!"

The librarian, who was seated at a nearby counter, gave Shinobu a stern glare and reprimanded him.

"Please don't harass the students, Godai-_san_. And mind your language."

Shinobu's mouth gaped at the librarian, then at Neuro (who was still blankly smiling), then back at the librarian, and Shinobu growled under his breath and cursed at the now harrumphing woman.

All the while, Yako stood beside Neuro, laughing nervously.

Knowing that arguing with Neuro would only bring him another kick to the head, Shinobu simply grumbled and sneered at him with his fiercest look, jutting his lower lip just to show off his lip rings—

—and Neuro suddenly had an idea.

Pulling on Shinobu's lip, Neuro relished in the pained screams Shinobu emitted.

And the librarian, once again, reprimanded the poor guy.

Shinobu, in a desperate attempt to redeem his otherwise misunderstood actions, wailed in his manliest voice.

"I did nothing wrong!"

And all the people in the library glared at him.

* * *

><p>Neuro had been reading books about cold cases and murder mysteries for the past four hours since he and Yako got home and ate dinner. The only time he took a break from reading was when he did a one-hour session of push-ups with Yako studying while sitting cross-legged on his back, right in the middle of the Katsuragi living room. Haruka and Seiichi laughed it off as "the lovebirds' way of showing affection". They weren't far off, though.<p>

With the suffocating pressure of the university exams breathing down their necks, he could only take a bit of time to unwind and not study academic material at all—he put his trust on his photographic memory to do all the work. Yako, on the other hand, had been grumbling and struggling on reading things about Science and Math for the past four hours, and feeling Neuro's lean muscles rippling beneath her thighs and buttocks earlier didn't help as much as she hoped it would.

The hazel-eyed girl secretly found it to be a major turn on—she didn't say anything to him, though. Who knows what kind of sadomasochistic remarks he would surely pull off if she said to him that she found his rippling flesh beneath her own to be so _damned arousing?_ Oh, she would never hear the end of it!

So she kept on silent, and she was now studying on the rough and carpeted floor while he leisurely read on her soft and warm bed.

_Such_ a gentleman.

Yako huffed after finishing half of her Science book, and she glared at her fiancé, who was still enjoying his sweet time on her bed. "That's my bed," she finally said after a few minutes of looking at his too-amused face.

"I know," he replied, humming as his thin eyebrow arched at her, his black-green eyes still not leaving his book as he blinked once. Yako noted his eyelashes were still a lot longer than hers.

Silence ensued for a moment, and from the corner of his observant eye, Neuro was sure Yako was planning on making her next move.

She stood up, pouted her lips, stomped her feet, jumped on the bed, and slid in between the arms and the torso of the calmly smiling man, narrowly avoiding Neuro's healing stitches as she made herself comfortable and aptly turned him into her personal bed.

He had let her do such a thing to him—not that he minded at all. In fact, he was impressed with her snake-like skills.

"What are you doing, Moldy?" he asked, his demeanor still calm as he lazily turned a page of his book, not actually expecting a reply. He sighed and inhaled Yako's scent as she cozied herself up to him, snuggling close to his body as much as she could, knowing fully well that he wouldn't mind the intimate contact at all.

"I'm tired of studying. I want to cuddle," was what she curtly said, and Neuro made a sound that sounded suspiciously like an amused laugh. And for emphasis, Yako burrowed her head in the crook of Neuro's neck, the latter almost purring at the sudden feeling of warmth.

"Well, aren't you a demanding little slave. Be grateful I'm feeling lax tonight. I want to rest my back after all that exercise earlier. Oh, and Yako. You need to lose some weight. You're heavier than the Earth."

"Way to blow things out of proportion as usual... And I'm definitely not heavier than the Earth! You're not even Atlas!"

"Heh," and he kissed the top of her head with a smile, and she immediately warmed up to him with a little pout.

A comfortable silence fell upon them, with only the shuffle of pages from a book to disturb the intervals of the otherwise noiseless atmosphere.

Yako almost fell asleep after a few minutes if it weren't for Neuro reaching over to the edge of the bed to drape blankets over them. She smiled at the sentiment, nonetheless.

"Neuro," she began, and he knew what that slow and thoughtful tone meant, "have I told you about what Aizawa and I talked about?"

His eyebrows rose, interest piqued at the mention of the blonde. "I thought you hate her? Did she hurt you in any way? Because I will shove a pole in her—"

She laughed and lightly slapped his arm, "She didn't hurt me, silly. We only talked. Like proper and civilized people."

"About what?"

It was then that Yako craned her neck to look at his puzzled face. "You mean you didn't check your records that day? Not even check up on me through your wired devices?"

"You told me not to butt in in any way, so I didn't. Which was why I was a jumbled mess in your room that day."

"...Oh."

"Yes. 'Oh'. Now, about the tramp—"

"She's not a tramp from what I can tell."

"Oh? What's with that little mumbling voice? Have my ears deceived me? You _defended_ Aizawa?"

"Look. I—I thought it over for the past few days, and I think that—she's just lonely," Yako then looked at Neuro, who remained unbelieving at what she was saying. "She is being pressured by her parents to marry and—"

He cut her off with an offhanded snort and a dismissive roll of his eyes, "She and I are on the same boat. It was why I left in the first place. Why bring this up now?"

She calmly held up a palm at him, and Neuro obediently slid into silence as he let her continue. "Aizawa—she is just a victim of the circumstances, pretty much like you and your parents."

"So you now see her as a saint, is that it?"

"_No_, it's not like that. Like hell I'll forgive her for kissing you. It's just—I find her current situation pitiful."

"Do you find me pitiful, then? Since you compared my situation to her."

"No. Neuro is strong, but Aizawa... She needs help."

"Tch. The only way we could help her is to give her a one-way ticket to Siberia to let her freeze her mammaries and ovaries off. I would be glad if someone were to grant that wish for me."

"Nice phrasing."

"Hn. I know. Now could we get off this topic? It's making my brain ache with all these unwanted emotions no thanks to your sappy talk. You wanted to cuddle. Now don't ruin the mood."

Another pout graced her lips as she now turned on her back, letting the warmth of his torso embrace her fully, mumbling a lone "Fine" as she took his left arm and draped it over her belly. He didn't mind it at all, and Neuro smiled as he held her tighter.

"That's better, kitten," he cooed, silently taking note how Yako tried to stifle a smile curling on her lips. He hummed and resumed his reading for a few minutes before his eyelids started to droop and his hold on the book started to waver, and the signs of falling asleep were becoming more apparent. Yako, who remained wide awake throughout the ideal, thought it was adorable for Neuro to be falling asleep in the middle of his reading session.

Deciding that he would rather let sleep take over him than finish his book for tonight, Neuro glanced at the digital clock on the dresser, and after seeing that it was still fairly early for him to go to bed (it was nine o'clock), he sighed and closed his book, placing it on top of the clock. He hugged Yako as he slid from the headboard to the pillows, smiling at her willingness to hug him back. She was now draped over him like his personal blanket, nuzzling him and smiling all the while as his eyes drifted close, and minutes later, they fell asleep locked in an embrace.

* * *

><p>It had been a month since the incident with Jody in the Katsuragi residence, yet the awful memory remained as fresh as day in Yako's mind.<p>

The sight of a bloody and almost lifeless Neuro had been haunting her in her dreams lately. Try as she might to shut them away, those images of him were becoming more and more unbearable for her.

Neuro knew what Yako had been thinking recently—he was trying to develop his human behavior observation skills lately, and he was using his fiancée as his unsuspecting subject.

Sleepless and blank eyes for three weeks straight, shifty movements, the short, yet frequent intervals of her becoming too clingy with him whenever they were on public, her frequent midnight wake-up calls of becoming more and more sensitive to the sounds that go bump in the night—

—she was now experiencing the things he was experiencing for the past eleven years.

That couldn't be good.

At first, he had shrugged it off as something that could be considered a sort of temporary post-trauma, but what made him realize that she was undergoing a traumatic case much worse than his was the recent nights that he had been experiencing with her. There were times that he would wake up to her hugging him tightly, crying on his chest, mumbling something about him and "not letting go", then she would steadily fall back to sleep if Neuro calmed her down enough with reassuring words that both of them were fine. There were also times that Neuro knew that Yako was faking sleep at night—she would whine inaudibly, tossing and turning on the bed, stifling choked cries that he was sure she wanted to let out.

He had been embracing her tightly at night since then, just to reassure her that everything was just a bad dream. On certain nights, he had thoughts that she might break down at any given moment—and it had been troubling him to no end since then.

* * *

><p>"—and so she has become like that recently."<p>

Neuro finished his story with a withheld sigh and a frown as he looked at the worried faces of Yako's parents, along with Sasazuka Eishi and Ishigaki Jun. Neuro knew he had to spill the beans at some point, but he just didn't know _when_—dealing with the complexities of human emotions, even of his own fiancée's, had always been a hard subject for him to wrap his mind into, and he had always let Yako do the explaining-of-the-emotions part for him, just so he could understand it even for a little bit.

Haruka's face contorted in pain upon hearing what her daughter was going through, and Seiichi merely shook his head forlornly, clearly not knowing what to do.

"Where is she now?" Eishi asked in his usual, gruff and almost inaudible voice. The ashen-haired man may look unfazed, but Neuro knew that he was, like the agitated Jun sitting beside Seiichi, very much as worried as the rest of them.

"Taking a nap," Neuro replied, his eyes stealing a glance towards the clock at the wall, "she should be waking up any minute now—"

As if cued, the sound of hurried footsteps was heard from the staircase, and Yako came almost tumbling towards the foyer, frantically yelling out Neuro's name.

Neuro was sure he heard her sob out a whimpering version of his name.

"I'm here!" the green-eyed man finally called out as he stood up to meet her on the entrance to the living room—only to be tackled by a quivering mess of sweat and tears that was Yako.

"I thought you left," she said, rubbing her face onto his torso as she held him tight. He returned the favor with an equally tight hug as he silently led her to the living room, his face looking grim as he glanced at Yako's parents.

The girl looked at her parents, then to Eishi and Jun, then to Neuro, blinking her wide brown eyes at him. "Neuro, what's going on? Did they find a lead to him?"

"Fortunately, we did," Eishi answered, nodding as he took a notepad from his off-gray coat pocket. "From what we gathered since last month, Tubulik was last seen loitering the areas of Yokohama sporting a makeshift bloody bandage on his arm and stomach. From what our informants heard, he had looked as pale as death."

"Well, why don't you get him if you already know where he is, then?" Yako asked, her eyebrows arching as she looked at Eishi with a frown.

Jun shook his head, and he answered for his superior, "Although we do understand your frustration of wanting him dead as soon as possible, it's not that easy, Yako. We need to catch him off-guard and without any witnesses. Your principal also wants him alive, you see. With the underground involved in this, it's never easy. He wanted to make sure he has suffered entirely before we capture him―after that, then we'll call you two to make him suffer even more. It's what Hayasaka-_san_ said."

Neuro shrugged, seemingly content with that explanation, "Well, that sounds nice. All the more better to beat him up once I see Rotting Corpse, then."

* * *

><p>The view from Mutsuki's room was astounding, to say the least.<p>

With an overlooking view of the whole of Tokyo just outside her glass windows, one could say it was a breathtaking sight once nightfall comes.

She hummed a tune that she recently heard from a movie―_Twisted Nerve_―as she looked at the city lights bathing the ground below. The lights in her room were turned off, just so she could see the fullness of the lively city of Tokyo just within her sights. The little teen observed the city through a little thing in her hands―a scope―with a little smile. She was sure she just spotted a car crash somewhere near Ikebukuro.

Her bedroom door opened, and a slightly gruff voice called out to her, telling her it's time for supper.

Quickly hiding the scope in one of her forearm-length fingerless gloves, she faced a man with a cheeky grin.

"Coming, Grandfather!"

* * *

><p>The school hallways have been bustling with activity lately, as Valentine's Day was fast approaching.<p>

"So, what will you get him this year?" asked Kanae excitedly to Yako, who was trying to reign in a furious blushing of her traitorous cheeks.

"I-I don't know, really," Yako stammered, her brown eyes drifting off to their classroom's window panes as she tried to think of a much better excuse.

Kanae scoffed and gaped at her best friend. Yako knew what was coming, judging from the girl's hands that were now akimbo and her obviously disappointed facial expression. "Yako, you can't just _not_ think of anything to give him, it's the month of love and―"

She was cut off by a cheerful voice booming behind her, and when Kanae turned around, she saw Neuro happily smiling and greeting the two of them as he made his way past her and straight into Yako, who was all-too-prepared for his daily and various advances of getting his snake-like hands all over her.

"What are you two talking about?" he asked in his innocent tone. Yako would not be fooled by those wide, child-like eyes trained solely on her, however.

Kanae piped up and answered for Yako enthusiastically, and she seemed too joyful to relay him the latest news.

"Valentine's Day is coming, Nougami-_san!_ What will you get Yako?"

Neuro laughed, his countenance jovial as he rubbed his chin on Yako's scalp, "Why, that's a secret, Yako's friend! Who knows, maybe you already have a clue in finding out what my gift for her is!"

"Neuro, what's with that statement? What are you planning?"

"Ssh. It's a secret for now, kitty. You'll know soon enough."

Kanae, as Yako predicted, squealed at the top of her lungs, hollering something about edible lingerie to the whole class.

* * *

><p>After their school day was over, Ishigaki Jun accompanied Neuro and Yako to the police car parked a block away from the school.<p>

They were going to make a testimony against Jody Tubulik.

"_Sempai_ knows all the things we should do. The solid and incriminating testimonies, the pictures we took, the records and whatnot―he knows them all," Jun stated to Neuro and Yako with an awe-filled air. He had always spoke highly of Eishi, and was not afraid to follow him from gruesome case to another gruesome case, if it meant being with the man.

Once they were driving towards the police station, Jun cranked up the volume of his radio, and a song from a big hit Japanese girl group blared from the stereo and Jun started to sing. In a very off-tune way.

"_Stand up right away―!_"

Neuro's eye twitched at the squeaky voice, and he brazenly spoke up with a lilting laugh, "Jun-_sensei_, could you _please_ stop singing? My stitches are starting to tear up. I'm sure you wouldn't want my blood soaking up this seat all because of your singing, would you?"

Silence shortly suddenly ensued between the three—and Neuro and Yako snickered at the backseat while Jun sniffled at the driver's seat, wiping off his snot with the sleeve of his coat.

"M-my students h-hate me!"

* * *

><p>Going to the detective's office had been tiring enough, even more so when Neuro and Yako had given consistent testimonies for three hours to the proper authorities.<p>

The plan to catch Jody Tubulik was finally in motion.

The Hayasaka brothers, Yako's parents, Zera, Mutsuki and Shinobu were there, too, along with the four bodyguards that Yukinori now have.

Cases upon cases have been piling up for Jody as time wore on, with cases that Yako's parents filed against him, and combined with the cases that Hisanori and the police filed against him were: obscenity, first-degree murder, child abuse, child exploitation, child procurement, forcible rape, aggravated assault with intent, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon leading to bodily injury, frustrated murder, forcible and unauthorized entry, destruction of property—

"Well, one thing's for sure," the prosecutor said as he leaned on his chair, "this guy will have a hard time—we can't charge him with felony anymore, can we? That would be too… convenient for him."

* * *

><p>Neuro's newly-renovated guest room-turned-gym had been dimly lit for the past hour, the door was locked, and a soundproof system was built all over the room. On the far left was a steel table, and on it was his laptop showing just what was happening just outside the room—five eyebugs were guarding the area, just in case Zera might disturb him.<p>

Various gym equipment were placed everywhere, yet in the middle of the room was an oddly-placed structure hanging from the ceiling—a strappado—and a scantily-clad, silk rope-bound, collared and blindfolded Yako was partly hanging from it.

"...Neuro? We just took a shower not too long ago and we're going to get messy again and—is the blindfold really necessary? I mean, it's enough that I close my eyes since I follow you and all and—"

"Oh hush, kitten, it's merely for aesthetics. Besides, having you temporarily deprived of your senses is one of the kinks in doing this."

"May I ask what's it for? I mean, I went with you for tonight instead of you going to my home with my parents—"

"You've been out of yourself lately. You need a distraction, Yako."

Neuro's voice hummed through Yako's ears, and she gasped as he blew on her ear, "I don't understan—"

"You've been crying in your sleep, that's not like you," and Neuro gently tucked a tuft of her hair behind her ear, observing Yako with an appreciative gaze as he did so. He knew that she realized what he meant, but she looked so _helpless_—and he couldn't help himself but to kiss her forehead and pat her head once as he whispered to her mouth, "I think this is one of the better ways to distract you. You'll be crying here, too—though for a _much_ different reason."

She sensed what he really wanted to say, the underlying innuendo in those words was too tempting, and she was about to retort when—with no sort of premise at all—he spanked her hard, earning a high-pitched squeal from Yako.

"N-Neuro, I—ah!" her thoughts were forgotten as she was once again spanked. Not giving her a moment of rest, Neuro continuously slapped her butt cheeks with his bare hand—and eleven more stinging slaps later, and her knees were already bucking and shivering as she came with a moanful cry.

"Well, that was fast, kitten," he said with a grin as he glanced at the now damp floor beneath Yako's feet.

She could sense the dripping satisfaction and sadism from his voice alone, and Yako would never tell it to him, but it made her insides churn with liquid passion even more. She whined and stuck out her bottom, wiggling it towards where she think Neuro was. The feeling of humiliation had long disappeared from her consciousness, and for her, there was nothing more fulfilling than feeling his rough touch all over her—

_Slap!_

"Ah—more!"

So he noticed her previously unspoken plea.

She heard him chuckle, and the sound of shuffling cloth was heard. Everything felt heightened around her—her hearing seemed to sharpen even more, and her sense of touch had become more sensitive since he blindfolded her.

Oh.

_So that's what he meant by making this experience kinky. The thrill of not knowing what he will do to me next._

She bit her lip as she felt her buttocks being fondled and grabbed roughly by his large hands, and then another slap was delivered to her reddened bum—she mewled for more of the rough contact.

"You like that, kitten?"

She noisily licked her lips with a strangled moan, nodding at his question. She knew her face was now flushed red and sweating from the rough treatment, heck, he might have been wickedly grinning at her now thanks to her wanton and shameless reactions—but none of those trivial things mattered now.

_I want him on me. I want his hands all over me—oh make me co—oh!_

The sound of ripping cloth was loudly heard, and the feel of her skimpy, lacy and see-through underwear being torn in half grazed her flushed and hypersensitive skin. Two hands grabbed the softness of her bosom, squeezing them, fondling them, slapping them with no ounce of shame, and Yako's mouth fell agape, her breathless pants and gasps becoming more and more audible as she felt Neuro's nose rubbing onto her sweat-slicked neck.

"Do you like this, Yako? Being groped and spanked and manhandled by me?"

Yako's neck was now bent back, wanting to hear more of that all-too-deep voice of his, and she gulped, thinking of what she should answer, as her thoughts were muddied with lewd musings. _Oh yesyesyes I want it I like it I love it moremoremore—!_

She felt her left nipple being pinched, and she let out a cry as she heard him purr in her ear.

"I didn't hear your answer, vixen."

She gasped at the new pet name, and her nether regions ached for desire. "Yes, I like it very much, Master."

His smile widened even more, and he licked and nipped her ear, relishing in Yako's reaction—yes, hearing her moan and rub herself on him was a very rewarding act in itself.

He draped his body on hers, licking away the sweat that had dampened her neck and cheeks, and he massaged her breast vigorously with one hand while he quickly rubbed her warm and wet nether regions with the other. He was rewarded with escalating and reverberating whines of _moremoremore! _

He granted her wish happily as he whispered lewd things to her ear, and he slowly rubbed his denim-clothed hardness in between her sore and pinkish-red bottom. Leaving the dampness of her womanhood, he inserted his fingers in Yako's willing mouth, to which the latter bit and sucked greedily.

Neuro quietly observed her actions with a languid smile—_too seductive, too erotic_—and when he put his fingers deeper in her mouth, she readily took them in with a loud suck and a sultry moan.

From where Neuro was standing, sticking his now bare torso so close to her damp back, he could feel his jeans tightening even more from the mere sight of Yako sucking his fingers alone—and his breathing became heavy as he kissed her cheek.

He removed his now soaked fingers from her mouth, and he earned a pitiful whine from her.

He grinned. Oh, how _submissive_.

"Patience, kitten," he muttered, and he rubbed her sweet spot vigorously once more, his strength showing through his arduous palming of that tingling place—

He bit on her neck, sucking on the skin exposed there. He felt her gasping for breath, and she craned her neck towards his face, licking her lips—_oh_.

He kissed her, their tongues lapping up each other in a very erotic dance—sucking and licking and nipping every oral muscle that they could, and Yako was now quivering in his sexual touch.

He knew she was at her limit—too much and she might become frustrated, that much he knew.

"Come for me, Yako."

Hearing him say such a thing in a very lascivious way made her come in wild squirts, and she let out a violent shudder as cry after cry and wave after wave of liquid heat consumed her, numbing her in euphoric bliss as her knees became thoroughly weak, and if it weren't for her restraints and the strappado, she would have been on the drenched floor by now.

"Good girl, Yako. Good girl," he said, smiling proudly at the now weak girl in his arms. When Yako didn't reply to any of his compliments about her, he removed the silk ropes that bounded her to the suspension bar and caught her fall, removing and throwing away her blindfold in the process.

He could still feel her heart thumping madly through her chest, and he inhaled her scent.

She groaned, and thinking that she was getting close to passing out, she laid her on the dry part of the floor—

—only to be swiftly tackled by Yako.

Taken aback by the sudden flare of life in her, he tried to hold her off—until he realized what she was really trying to do.

Roughly smacking her lips to his, the fully-nude Yako straddled her fiancé and ground her hips fervently to his now stiff jeans—she grinned in his lips when she heard him groan and gasp.

"I didn't know you still have strength left in you," he panted in between searing kisses, smiling at the way she was now boldly grinding her bare and still moist vulva on his stomach. He caressed her right butt cheek, and she sighed.

She laid flat on him and cradled his face on the cleavage and slope of her chest, giggling at how responsive he suddenly became—licking and sucking her all over certainly made her laugh in glee.

"Neuro, look at what you have made me become," she said with a wistful sigh, squealing when she felt his teeth nip the underside of her breast. She heard him hum in what she deemed to be contentment.

"Yes, I can see what I have done—and frankly, I have no regrets," he said as clearly as he could, as he was currently being smothered by her decent chest. He took in both of her erect nubs in his eager mouth, grazing his teeth on the perky flesh as he groaned. He could feel Yako clamping his head close to her bosom until he could barely breathe—he didn't mind it at all. Enclosing his arms tightly around her back, he continued to suck on her teats, eliciting a loud and obscene suctioning sound from his mouth. Yako was sure they were being too loud.

She lifted herself away from him, and he automatically followed her with his craning neck. "My Master should know how to wait," she cooed playfully, tapping her finger on his lips twice. She could see his lips frowning and his bright green eyes widen for a fraction, and he wordlessly let go of her as he laid his head back on the floor. He moistened his lips, eyeing her carefully still.

Yako giggled at his sudden obedience, and she felt powerful over him at this moment. She stood up above him in her naked glory, and she knew that Neuro shamelessly basked his sights in her full nakedness. At the back of her mind, she knew that what she was about to do will forever change their nightly rituals, yet, she felt completely at ease. Maybe because it was Neuro she was with, and frankly, she didn't mind it at all if it was him—everything would be all right if it's him, she thought.

Besides, she wanted to know how this experience would turn out to be. Judging from Neuro's quick-learning skills—_I'd say this is going to be ecstasy personified. _

Finally giving in to the sins of pure pleasure, she gave him a licentious grin, and she moved to stand directly on his face, completely unashamed of the remnants of her juice dripping down her womanhood and straight to her inner thighs and legs—

—and she could see realization dawning on his features as his eyes widened even more, and his nose seemed to flare and his chest seemed to rise and fall faster as the beginnings of a knowing smirk painted his face.

_Oh, those fanged teeth of his will do wonders to me tonight!_

She licked her lips and eyed him with a seductive stare as her hand snaked down to her dripping Venus mound—

"Please eat me, Master."

He promptly and gladly opened his mouth as she slowly sat on his face, relishing in the taste of her forbidden fruit.

* * *

><p>Zera was on the phone speaking to Yukinori about the latest news about the Turk, and when Yukinori requested to speak with Neuro, Zera promptly replied with an affirmative. The caretaker made his way to his master's room with the phone in his hand and knocked on the door. Hearing no response, he knocked again and peeked inside, and he saw no one inside. Shrugging and thinking that he might be in the shower—<em>now, where is Yako-sama?<em>—Zera went over to the bathroom and knocked. Again, he was met with silence. He huffed, grumbling to himself, "Ugh. Where _are_ they?"

He scanned the rest of the area, "Um, Yukinori-_san?_ Yes, um, I'm looking for him as we speak. Please wait for a second—"

"_Oh? Is he out?_"

"No, no. He is here. I'm sure he's with Yako-_sama_—"

"_I might be barging in on them—_"

Zera laughed, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of his master as he walked, "Oh ho, nonsense! Neuro-_sama_ and Yako-_sama_ does not see you as a nuisance. He ordered me earlier that should there be any call about their former teacher, I should promptly notify him as soon as possible. So here I am looking for them and—hold on. I think I hear something."

He went over to where the sound was. It was a faint sound of something intelligible, but he was sure that his master and mistress were inside. He tried knocking, but the muffled sounds continued.

"_Ya sure I'm not barging in?_" Zera heard Yukinori speak on the other line, and the caretaker reassured him that it was fine.

"I think I found them—wait—door's locked. Please hold," and Zera pounded his fist on the locked door, raising his voice just in case they didn't hear him. "Neuro-_sama?_ Neuro-_sama?_ Yukinori-_san_ is on the phone and wants to talk to you right now! He says it's urgent. Neuro-_sama?_ Yako-_sama?_"

Zera sighed when he received no response and he glared at the door. Thinking no other way than to listen in on the inside (_maybe there's music playing and that's why they can't hear me_), he placed his ear on the door and listened intently—

—only to hurriedly scoot away, and he felt his face had suddenly gotten hot. _Is that what I think it is?_

His lips trembled as his eyes became unfocused, looking at the door as though it was the most offensive thing on earth.

"_Hello? Hellooo?_"

Snapping out of his now muddied mind, he shakily put the phone to his ear, "U-um. N-Neuro-_sama_ is not available at the moment—"

"_Thehell? What could be more important than the news about goddamned Tubulik? Tell him ta get his ass away from his books and talk to me right now!_"

Zera gulped, his sights still blankly trained on the locked door.

"N-Neuro-_sama_ is with Yako-_sama_ at the moment and—and I don't think they will like it if anyone interrupted them right now..."

There was static on the other line, then silence, and a huff of breath was heard, and full-blown guffawing suddenly grated on Zera's unprepared ears.

"_So he's finally getting some tonight, eh? That Nougami sure knows how ta please a woman! Haha! Okay, okay. I'll call 'em later. Make sure after they're finished, they'll call me, 'kay? Just 'cause he's doing some dirty dancin' with 'er doesn'mean he's get to neglect this juicy piece of news. Heh—that lucky bastard's getting some meat tonight—_"

Zera merely laughed awkwardly as he started to break a sweat—for reasons he would rather _not_ delve into—not knowing how to carry on the conversation.

* * *

><p>Inside the room, it seemed that Yukinori's guess was not completely far off—as Neuro was now having the time of his life sucking Yako dry of her inner juices.<p>

Lying with her back on the floor and with her legs raised and spread with her head in between her knees, Yako, who had been grabbing onto Neuro's hair for the past half an hour, let out cry after cry as Neuro relentlessly ate her out—

"Oh, _oh_—that _tongue_—ssh—ah!" She was thrashing wildly now, trying to stop her now hoarse voice as she felt his tongue probing deep inside her with a loud suck and slurp. Yako had already came thrice since she sat on him earlier, and he had yet to stop making her come, but _no_.

She knew he would try and drain her absolutely dry of her vaginal liquids—and she felt no regrets in spurring on his inner devil earlier.

He let out a guttural moan as he rapidly shook and nodded his head simultaneously, his tongue coming out in quick wisps that remotely reminded Yako of a rattlesnake's tongue—shaking and moving around swiftly with no signs of stopping.

She moaned as he sucked on the sides of her mons pubis, giving each side a lingering kiss along with a lewd _pop_ of his lips, and he took a taste of her pink and engorged cherry.

His face and his thick eyelashes started to sweat. His eyes—which have been closed the entire time he was taking her—opened, and he looked at her, and he felt a sense of power rush in him as he gazed at her flushed face contorted in pleasurable bliss.

_Oh, you tempting creature, you._

He grazed and nipped his teeth on her inner thigh, and he heard her gasp and giggle at the same time as her body arched—and her shaky fingers on his thoroughly mussed up hair tightened even more. She mindlessly ground her hips on his face, any thought of modesty being thrown out of her consciousness as she yearned to feel more of that addictive heat—

"I'm going to—again—!"

He paid her warning no heed as he continued his ministrations with much fervent want, his mouth already prepared to take all of the fluids her body will surely offer.

Her body arched for the umpteenth time as her neck bent back, her hands gripped tightly in his hair more than ever, and her eyes rolled at the back of her head as her lips muttered Neuro's name in a breathless chant—and she came in his mouth with a gasp and a long, languid moan.

Seconds seemed to tick by, and Neuro finally let go of Yako's abused womanhood with one last lick to the whole length of it, and he rested her legs back to the floor, smiling contentedly at the look of pure euphoric bliss and satisfaction on her face. She was looking at her far right, her chest still heaving breathless gasps, her teeth idly biting the knuckle of her forefinger with that lost look in her hazy brown eyes.

Oh, how _adorable_.

He chuckled and buried his face in her neck, trailing butterfly kisses in his wake as he whispered to her ear.

"_Consider this an appetizing glimpse of what I will do to you in the future once we declare our marriage vows, Yako._"

He wasn't expecting a reply, really. But when he felt a rumble of vibration from her neck, he was sure she was going to say a smart retort.

What he was not expecting, however, was a seemingly longing sigh as she slid her eyes towards him, followed by her words that sent delicious tingles down his spine.

"But I want Neuro in me now."

He chuckled and kissed her clavicle, shutting his eyes closed as he moved to listen in on the steadying beat of her hammering heart. "Still too early for that, kitten. You know that," and he gave her breast a firm squeeze, liking the way its softness easily filled his clammy hand.

She quivered in his touch.

"Still sensitive, eh? We'll fix that. Come on, stand up."

"Eh? But—ah..."

He lifted her up and carried her on her stomach and stared at the floor, blinking as a thought crossed his mind.

"...I guess Zera will have to fix that. Oh well. Yako? We'll be needing a bath."

"Ugh. Of course we do. Now, could you put me down? All my blood is in my head."

"Heh. Nope!"

So Neuro picked up the mangled lingerie scattered on the floor and put them in his pocket—he loosely draped a towel over Yako's naked form and carried her to the bathroom with a wide smile.

He took off his pants—making sure that Yako was looking at him—and they took a quick shower first, then he arranged a steaming bath for them, sighing as soon as they dipped themselves in the welcoming warmth.

"Isn't this great, little slave?" he said, his arms now lazily draped over the edges of the tub as he gazed appreciatively at her back.

"Your bathtub is too huge," she replied instead with a minute pout, and she sloshed the water playfully as she leaned back on his torso and gazed at him. "You look weird right now," she said, smiling.

"Of course I do. You're looking at me upside-down. You look weird too, if I should say."

She jutted her bottom lip, easing her now sore bottom on his still clothed crotch. "You're weirder. You might want to remove your underwear in your bath. We're not in the French revolution, you know."

His lips set into a thin line, and mustering a dejected sigh, he pushed her and made space between her and his seemingly offending anatomy.

She was facing the tiled walls, blinking, "Um. I didn't know you'd be offended that muc—"

Her speech was cut off as he huffed and removed his boxers, his jerky movements sloshing the water disruptively. Yako stifled a grin as she saw his soaked underwear, her impishness was short-lived however, when he completely removed his boxers and plopped them on her head. And he laughed. She removed it and glared at it before dropping it on the wet rag on the floor, and she growled at him—that handsome face and that devilish smile playing on those ever skillful lips will someday be her fall.

He was laughing as she glared at him, "Happy now, slave?"

With no warning, she embraced him and kissed him fully on the lips, eliciting a deep moan from Neuro as he closed his eyes and held her tight against him. Her lips went downwards to his neck, trailing kisses straight to the manly collarbones she loved so much, and she nipped him there, creating a hickey on the wet and pale skin.

"Neuro is mine."

"Feh. I never said I wasn't yours, kitten," he drawled, his tone amused at how she was acting. He kissed her forehead and pulled her towards him, silently enjoying the feel of her naked breasts on his chest.

She made herself comfortable on him as she closed her eyes, quietly taking in the steaming warmth and calmness of her surroundings as she relaxed in his gentle hold.

"Falling asleep?" she heard him ask, and Yako shook her head, her breath hitching as she felt the familiar stiffness poking the side of her left thigh.

She paid it no mind however, as she felt nimble fingers threading through her damp and freshly-washed hair, and a soft kiss was placed on top of her head. And Yako smiled, truly not wanting to ruin the calm mood despite the apparent temptation waiting literally just beneath her flesh.

There was a knock on the door, and Zera's voice was heard.

"_Neuro-sama? Yukinori-san wants to speak to you right now._"

Yako looked quizzically at Neuro, and they seemed to talk with only their eyes. She nodded and shrugged and Neuro was about to call out to Zera when he was stopped by Yako's finger tapping his lips. He blinked at her, and she pointed at the little bottle sitting on the small table near the bathtub. He took the little bottle, as he was nearer to the table, and he gave it to her, curious as to what she will do with it. Yako read the label and nodded to herself, and she poured half of the bottle's contents in the tub, gently sloshing the water until large and foamy bubbles began to form—and she submerged her body deeper in the water as soon as the foam filled the tub, her honey-brown eyes sparkling and looking at him in a seemingly innocent way—and he was truly charmed.

"All right. Zera! You can come in now."

The door opened, and a red-faced Zera entered the steam-filled bathroom with his eyes firmly closed. "H-here's the phone, Master," and he blindly handed over said phone to Neuro, to which the latter gladly accepted, and Neuro waved him off, dismissing his caretaker with a smarmy grin and an offhanded insult.

Once Zera left and locked the door, Neuro mustered a smile and spoke on the phone. "Yes?"

"_Yo, Nougami! Ya finished having a good time with yer kitty?_"

Neuro's smile faltered, and his eyebrow rose as he looked at Yako, who was too busy putting foamy suds on his neck and shoulders with a happy smile. "Who told you that?"

"_Yer maid, of course! Haha! Didn't know ya could pull that off on Katsuragi! Hoo boy. Yer a fast one. So, tell me how ya got her into tha—_"

"Hayasaka. I suggest you start spilling the real purpose of your call right now or else I might maim you first thing in the morning tomorrow," he paused and put a handful of suds on Yako's hair, smirking when she scrunched her face and stifled a scream. The bubbles got in her eyes.

"_Fine, fine. Sheesh. Ya can't take a joke, can ya. Mucchan called earlier. Said she caught a fish near Kokugakudai in Higashi on 'er way to 'er grandpa's factory. She 'as 'im captive now in aniki's white room as we speak._"

Neuro closed his eyes as he let Yako douse his chest with her dainty hands dampened with water. "Great. Could we get there tomorrow after our university exams? Yako and I will be busy."

"_Eh? The two of you will apply for a uni already? Shit. I haven't gotten any choices yet... Hey, which one did the two of you pick?_"

Neuro glanced at Yako, and she shrugged nonchalantly at him. He pursed his lips and he draped an arm on the small of her back. "Yako will be applying for Foreign Studies in Toudai. She wants to learn other languages, you see," and he patted her head, proudly smiling at her, "I, on the other hand, will take on the exams in Waseda. The law school there is top-notch."

There was a sound of static on the other line, and a loud whoop of what Yako assumed as surprise was heard.

"_S-seriously? Katsuragi? In Toudai? Haha!_"

Yako puffed her cheeks and glared at the phone in Neuro's hand. She raised her voice, obviously annoyed, "_What?_ You sound surprised!"

There was a nervous laugh on the other line, "_O-oh. Katsuragi! Haha. Didn't hear you there! And um, n-no! I didn't sound surprised! Not at all! Haha-!_"

Yako's eyebrow raised and her lips curled in a grimace, "Well, that certainly doesn't sound like you're _not_ surprised."

Yukinori made a pathetic excuse for an apology—Yako shrugged it off with a laugh. Neuro chuckled and steered the topic back to the Turk.

"So he's bound, I assume?"

"_Bound and tortured by Mucchan, I tell ya._"

* * *

><p>Hoarse screams echoed within white-painted walls. And the smell of sweat was thick in the air.<p>

"Say, _sensei_. Why did you do such a thing to my Neuro-_nii?_ Why?"

Jody spat blood on the ground, his eyes downcast on the water-and-sweat-slicked floor—he didn't speak a word to the girl standing in front of him.

Mutsuki frowned at the merely groaning man—_slouched and bound on the chair like a pathetic pig_—and her palms were itching to unsheathe her weapons within her favorite gloves. When Jody didn't speak anymore, Mutsuki craned her neck to look at a smiling Hisanori standing behind her.

"Hisanori-_jii_, he won't speak to me," she said, her innocent tone betraying the apathy reflecting in her eyes.

The principal clamped his lips, smiling still at the little teen with his hands behind his back. "Well, we can't have that. How about giving him a dose of your favorite serum?"

And Mutsuki's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing those words, and a broad, child-like beam bloomed on her face as she giggled and swayed on the balls of her feet.

"Gladly!" she shouted happily, and she looked at the weakened Turk once more—she gave him a broad, but tight-lipped smile.

A pair of stiletto switchblade knives appeared from within Mutsuki's forearm gloves, and she sniggled.

"_You won't be able to hurt my loved ones ever again._"

* * *

><p>Please do review. It would be very much appreciated. :3 Srsly.<p> 


	23. Juventa

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Three: Juventa <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **To Niry, thank you for pointing out the error last chappie~ OAO That was a huge headdesk moment for me when I saw it. Thanks much~ XD And to IlikeNoms, thank you for reviewing every chapter~! OAO I could just hug you~ …if I know you and all. (._.)"

* * *

><p>After going from university to university in a day just to take their exams, Neuro and Yako made it a task to get to the Hayasaka house as soon as they were finished. Once they had bought food for their friends (as a way of thanking them), they had taken a cab to get to their destination.<p>

The cab driver had glanced at Yako from time to time as he was driving—the oblivious girl had done nothing but to stuff her cheeks with food from her seemingly bottomless schoolbag. Neuro had only smiled innocently at the driver the whole ride.

Once they were dropped off to the gates leading to the Hayasaka residence, Yako was stunned, to say the least.

It was a European-style mansion that she was staring at.

Neuro, on the other hand, simply yawned at the sight.

"Welcome, friends! Come in, come in! Everyone is waiting in the white room," cheered Yukinori as a greeting—and when all was said and done, Yukinori led the two all the way to the 'white room', as he put it. And when the platinum-haired male opened the door leading to where everyone was, there was initial silence, and then, the tension inside the room lifted.

Neuro sadistically smirked. Yako gasped as she and her fiancé stepped inside.

Jun and Mutsuki were the ones who greeted them with their usual exuberance. Hisanori simply smiled and nodded at Neuro and Yako while Eishi merely mustered his usual gruff greeting of hello.

"Where's Kanae-_chan?_"

Yukinori stepped in and shrugged as he regarded Yako with a small frown, "Taking her uni exams with the tennis club members. Didn't she tell you? She told me she texted ya last night."

Yako took out her phone and blinked at the screen—three new messages. She bit her lip and looked at Yukinori nervously, "Oh. All from her. Um, yeah—don't tell her I just saw her messages now."

He shrugged, "Fine with me. Oh right—have you noticed the work of art Mucchan did with our ol' teacher?" And he graciously gestured over to one unconscious Jody, who was still bound on the wooden chair with a—

—barbed wire wrapped around his battered body.

"Mutsuki-_tan_ did all of this?" Yako asked, completely dumbfounded at the sight of a greasy-haired, bloody-faced Jody. She saw Mutsuki nodding and smiling happily all the while, as though the torture she inflicted on the Turk was her first masterpiece.

"He won't talk to me no matter how much food I gave him last night. So I made an activity to make him talk! Tee hee!"

Yako stared wide-eyed at Mutsuki, "By forcing him?" And the girl nodded enthusiastically. Yako sighed and opted to pat her head dejectedly while Neuro grinned madly at the little teen.

"I suppose this is your way of saying to maim him as much as possible?" Neuro asked, thoroughly amused by all of this. Mutsuki shook her head, still smiling, and as she was about to speak, Hisanori cut her off with a light chuckle.

"Mutsuki was restraining herself all night. She said she wanted to present you his ear, at least."

Yako tried to hold in her queasiness in the conversation taking place as she slowly spoke, "A-an ear, you say?"

Eishi shrugged and answered for Hisanori instead, "The little girl wanted to slice his privates last night, but I told her that he wouldn't last long enough for you two to arrive, so she smothered food on his face instead. And since she didn't seem to be satisfied with that, she also cut off his earlobe with a stiletto knife."

Yako looked at Mutsuki's smiling face and her innocent demeanor—_a total yandere!_

"I reserved the other earlobe for _nee-chan!_ And the rest of the body for Neuro-_nii_. An eye for an eye, they said. Tee hee!"

Neuro hummed thoughtfully behind Yako, and he went over to stand and look at the damage Mutsuki caused, his emerald-onyx eyes almost twinkling in delight. "I take it he urinated on the floor?" he asked. His nose twitched at the smell of urine reeking from near his feet, from behind him, he could tell that Yako was holding in the bile rising from her throat.

"Twice," Jun said, wiping away the tears and snot from his face with a hanky. The stench was overwhelming, yet he needed to stay just in case Jody would thrash wildly in his seat again.

From beside Jun, Eishi sighed and chewed on his unlit cigarette, his teeth almost gnawing at the filter as he eyed Neuro. "The police wants him, you know. But _he_," he motioned over to the smiling Hisanori, "wants him, too. For certain reasons that we all know. The law states that he should be with us, since he's our prisoner in the first place. But seeing now—the underground is involved. What's worse, we found out last night—thanks to the little girl here—that he prostituted not only Ewing, but also other girls from different schools in the area. He also said that he hired an Indian boy as his personal _toy_—as he said. We still have to confirm if he's telling the truth or not. If it is, then we'll go on further investigation. He's insanely sick, I know. It just happened that he had an obsessive fixation on our Scottish victim—and Ewing didn't know what hit her until it was too late."

Heavy silence filled the room, and several pairs of eyes now glared at the still unconscious Jody. Neuro sighed, and a lopsided smirk graced his features as he wore a pair of dark brown leather gloves that he took out from his pocket. With the tip of his middle finger, he tilted Jody's head this way and that, as though the man was a fascinating experiment—_an abomination_—to behold. He noted the bloody ear that Mutsuki described, looking at the cleanly cut right earlobe with interest. He looked at the Turk's right arm and stomach, both of which were bandaged and had a reddish-brown tint from the coagulating blood from his putrid flesh. Neuro smiled as he roughly poked the bandage on the man's arm, and he grinned when he saw Jody flinch in his unconsciousness—so the blond prodded on the bloody flesh again.

_Ah, so this is the work I have done to him on that day._

From behind him, Yako sighed. "Neuro, you might get germs from that."

"That's what the gloves are for, kitten."

"But then your gloves will be contaminated with germs."

He frowned, looked at his gloves thoughtfully, as though pondering over Yako's words, and shrugged—he poked the man again, this time, on his stomach. Yako rubbed her temples and gave up.

"He's like a kid all over again," she mumbled to a giggling Mutsuki. "By the way, Mutsuki-_tan_, how did you get him?"

"By chance, _nee-chan_. I was in the car with a bodyguard, we were riding to Grandfather's place, you see. And I saw _sensei_ fiddling in the trash dump near the back alleyways of Kokugakudai—for food, I think. So I did what I have to do. Stopping the car and aiming my L42 at him, I managed to graze a bullet on his left sole. Um, or maybe I broke his sole? Hm—dunno. Oh well," and she brushed it off with an offhanded shrug and a light-hearted giggle, as though shooting people with sniper rifles was the most normal hobby in the world.

Yako felt all her blood rush to her feet. Her eye twitched. _She's dangerous!_

Hisanori cleared his throat and let out a withheld sigh as he clapped once. He looked at the people in the room, and nodded to himself. "Well, now that the culprit we all want is now in our hands—how should we divide him?"

"I have the earlobe!" chirped Mutsuki happily as she raised her hand like an attentive student. Hisanori laughed.

"No, Mutsuki. We will not divide him _literally_," and the smiling man saw her happy grin turn to a trembling pout in milliseconds flat, "but once your Neuro-_nii_ and your _nee-chan_ have finished their way with him, _then_ you can have him." He opened his eyes and looked at the policemen, "Eishi, after little Mutsuki here is done with him, you can do whatever you want. Just—please make sure he is returned to me. I want to have a little... _talk_ with him, if it's possible."

* * *

><p>Neuro had been prepared for this day—the day when he would have to knock out the living daylights in Jody Tubulik.<p>

Yako, after giving the food to Yukinori earlier, was in the Hayasaka dining hall—or so Yukinori said—and she was eating her heart out from the meal that Hisanori so graciously provided. Neuro simply nodded and patted Yukinori on the shoulder, telling him that he only needed a couple of hours to "wake up The Corpse".

Yukinori left Neuro in the white room since then.

"Eh heh, now, what to do with _sensei_, I wonder," Neuro was now alone with a battered Jody. The blond was pacing back and forth in front of the unconscious man, his green eyes looking at the blinding whiteness of the walls. Suddenly having an idea, he clapped his fist on his palm, and he snickered at Jody's face.

"Time to play, Mister Corpse."

He then took a taser from his schoolbag.

"This is going to be fun!"

* * *

><p>"Thish ish delishoosh! Hm—an' thish chooo! Om—and thish one! Oh yesh—more tea, pleash!"<p>

Yako stuffed her face with plate after plate of European and Japanese dishes, and she talked as she ate. Mutsuki laughed as she took pictures of Yako with her phone, Yukinori slapped a palm to his face, grumbling something about manners, and Hisanori merely smiled at the whole scenario.

They talked about various things—the retelling of the tale on that horrible night, how Neuro and Yako were faring with all that had happened, and how they will prevent such a thing to happen.

Funny how Yako seemed to be at ease at retelling the events, the talk of blood at the dining table didn't seem to make her squicky at all.

Must be Nougami's influence, the Hayasaka brothers thought.

Once the two-hour time limit passed, Neuro appeared by the doorway with an innocent smile and immediately made a beeline to sit next to Yako. She offered him a plate of lamb chops, he eyed them, took of his gloves, and gladly took one.

"So, how was he?" Hisanori asked Neuro casually as he ate.

"Awake as I promised," and Neuro shrugged, and he drank the tea from Yako's cup. "It's your turn, kitty. Make him suffer."

Yako pondered whether to inflict physical pain on her former teacher or to inflict—

She sighed, "I choose the mental way instead."

Neuro raised an eyebrow at her, "What's that you said?"

Yako blinked at Neuro, and upon realizing that she just said her thoughts out loud, she shook her head dismissively. "It was nothing. I'll go check up on him now," and she stood up and went away.

"Turn them on first!" Neuro said, and Yako knew what he meant. She tapped her hair clips and put on her choker as she walked just as Neuro put on his earpiece.

* * *

><p>"—why do you insist on selling all those innocent girls, <em>sensei?<em> Do you find it amusing to see them suffer in the hands of other men?"

"Heh. You have a lot of questions, Katsuragi-_san_. Is that how Nougami-_san_ influenced you? By being too prying of other people's business?"

"You hurt my fiancé two months ago. I don't think I could stand _not_ to pry about anything that involves him."

Jody coughed and spat blood on the floor. He was mockingly laughing at her. "So it _is_ true? You are bound to be married to him? Ah, child. A fruitless endeavor it will be."

Yako's jaw tensed as she looked at that bloody face. The Turk's face was punched or kicked by Neuro, it seemed. "What do you mean?" _Don't let him get to your skin._

"A family you will have—with him? Isn't that a bit foolish? He will only hurt you—just as he had done to me."

"You deserve it."

"Hm. Suppose you're right. But he _will_ hurt you—"

"On what grounds?"

Jody tried his best to shrug despite the blood-sprinkled barbed wires around his body. "On a whim, perhaps? Men are born to dominate over women—it has always been. And it is not different with him. He will hurt you physically—and emotionally. Maybe even mentally. Do you want that?"

"He won't hurt me. He never had and never will."

"Oh?" he coughed, blood now smearing his chin. "How could you be so sure?"

"He had told me time and again that he wants to have a family with me, one that he will love—because... he had never felt love in his own."

"A fool's errand it will be, then. Hah."

"Why do you say so? Do you not feel love? How about Ewing-_san?_ Didn't you feel regret when you _killed_ her?"

"...I didn't kill her."

"_What._"

"I didn't kill her! Sure, I may have toyed around with her for a bit that day, but I didn't kill her! I wouldn't!" He was squirming and thrashing around in his seat now, uncaring for the wires that dug into his skin and flesh.

Yako winced as she watched blood trickle down his chin.

"Vijaya. Ask him. It's his fault! Him and his jealousy! He wanted her dead ever since she told him she wanted to be with me. She passed it and he didn't—she got to enter the school while he couldn't. He stalked her day and night. I didn't know he would actually trespass the school and kill her after I finished with her—I didn't—_bu hain_—"

He was now garbling gibberish Yako couldn't understand, a language she never heard of, and frankly, it scared her—as he was now trying to free himself from his binds. In a very bloody way.

She stepped back as the blood from his body slowly dripped to the floor. The reds and yellows and browns were an odd mix to the whiteness of the floor—the sight of a madly screaming Jody unnerved Yako, and when she saw those angry eyes glaring at her, she instinctively froze.

He spat on her face.

The door slammed open, and the policemen stormed the room with their guns pointed at the Turk. Neuro was close behind, his eyes glaring and his brows furrowed as he wordlessly went over to Yako—and he wiped the bloody spit from her face with his now gloved hand.

"Want me to rip his head off?" he growled, looking at the still screaming Jody with obvious contempt as he laid his hand on Yako's shoulder, pulling her close as he did so. The earpiece was still attached on Neuro. He probably told the others that something will come up, Yako thought.

Yako shook her head as she let out a long withheld sigh. "It's all good for now. Though another name popped up on the list."

Neuro scoffed.

* * *

><p>Various sizes of heart cut-outs of red and pink overwhelmed the city. Couples of young and old walked down the streets, some of them carrying a single flower or even a bouquet of flowers in their hands.<p>

Neuro and Yako, though, were holding ten boxes of pizza on each hand—forty boxes in all. And inside Yako's backpack were six bagfuls of meat buns. The two were walking down the streets, looking like an odd pair among the throngs of young couples holding hands or even kissing chastely in the middle of the crowd-filled areas.

At one point, Neuro became irritated when a middle-school couple was smooching right in the middle of where he and Yako were supposed to walk.

So Neuro kicked the poor guy straight to the nearby trash bin—and as Neuro deftly carried the other pizzas in his left hand, he heaved Yako on his shoulder and sprinted down the streets, cackling madly while Yako hollered apologies to the now yelling middle-schoolers in their wake.

They came up to the Hayasaka residence once more, just three days after the questioning (and torturing) of Jody. The pair's visit today was something casual, no businesses or questionings involved—just a normal way of saying thanks, as Yako had told Neuro.

He had been reluctant to go with her at first—as he was feeling lazy, for once—but when she promised to take him to the bookstore afterwards, he finally complied.

Having a snack with their friends seemed fine enough, if one could call it as such—Neuro and Yako ended up eating most of the food. Thankfully, Yukinori and Kanae had brought more food, because they knew it would happen.

Their talk was light, and often it involved about what their plans for the future will be. Kanae wanted to pursue a career in modeling, as she had long hoped to be, while Yukinori wanted to be by his brother's side acting as his bodyguard and occasional business partner—he wanted to be as useful as he could to his brother.

A drunk Shinobu tactlessly confessed that he had been holding feelings for Mutsuki—much to their shock. The little teen, on the other hand, merely giggled, and told the rest of the group that "Gocchan was being ridiculous again".

They didn't know if that was an outright rejection from Mutsuki or not. Neuro thought nothing of the whole matter though, as he merely drank two bottles of cognac while resting his hand on Yako's.

When the sun was setting below the horizon, and all was said and done—leaving the grisly parts of Jody's torture completely unsaid (no matter how much Kanae begged for them to say it)—the group dispersed with the promise of meeting together for Monday.

Mutsuki went home with a shamefaced and flushed Shinobu, the latter blatantly cursing profanities that "it wasn't what it looked like" and that "people should be who they want to be with"—Yako and Kanae bade the two a giggling farewell after that. Neuro merely yelled out a nasty insult to the bleach-haired male—"_don't take her to dark places and make her drink suspicious drinks, pedophile!_"

Needless to say, the people on the streets gasped and moved out of Shinobu's way, some even glaring at him as mothers hurriedly carried their children away.

Shinobu cursed out Neuro as they hailed a cab.

Yako and Neuro snickered while Kanae covered her face in shame for her friends as they walked.

"So, Kanae-_chan_, why didn't Yukinori-_san_ go with you? That seems odd," Yako observed as she walked by Kanae's side. Neuro walked by Yako's left, holding his fianceé's hand as always.

"He said he would be having a chat with his brother. I assume when he has a chat with Hisanori-_san_, it's serious business. I guess he has to be serious with all that has been happening lately. But, really. He'll get all poker-faced and German soldier-like and—why are you laughing, Yako?"

"N-nothing, haha—c-carry on. Grrpft—haha—!"

"Ugh. Yaaako—tell me what's so funny! Nougami-_san_, tell me what she's thinking, please! I can't see the joke in what I just said!"

Neuro merely sighed and looked away from Kanae, fighting the urge to smack Yako's head. Little did Yako know that he knew what she was thinking.

_Maggot must be thinking of me dressed up in a German army uniform_.

Then he stopped in his tracks, a thought came to his mind—

—_riding crops and canes and whips_—

—and a wide, evil grin slowly crept on his face.

"Yaakoo—"

Yako stopped walking and froze.

She knew what that voice meant.

Her head turned ever so slowly towards an innocent-looking, _giggling_ and happily _swaying_ Neuro—and her honey-brown eyes widened as she gulped and instinctively let go of his hand, inching away. Blaring warning signs filled her head when Neuro looked at her with utter joy. Utterly _sadistic_ joy.

Yako started to sweat when Neuro chuckled and took a tiny step towards her.

Kanae, who was quietly watching the wordless, yet comical exchange with mounting interest, thought her friends were acting like a husband and wife—it was a nice thought to dwell on. Yet, she knew nothing why her best friend would act such a way towards Neuro. He was just being sweet! was what Kanae thought.

Once Neuro smiled and spread his arms wide open towards Yako, all Kanae saw was Yako laughing and squealing and running for her life—

—and naturally, Neuro chased after her calmly, with that same child-like smile on his face. His long legs proved to be quite helpful as he walked briskly in long strides and cackled while high-pitched babbling coos of "Kitty, come back here—!" filled the air. Complete with his fingers curling and uncurling towards the direction Yako ran, Kanae noticed that his speed was picking up, and before she knew it, even _she_ was running after her friends.

Neuro seemed to be having a lot of fun chasing Yako down the sidewalk leading towards the neighborhood where she and Yako lived. Yako, on the other hand, was yelling and squealing her lungs out, trying to outrun Neuro as best as she could, but she failed the moment she almost ran into a lamp post, and Neuro finally caught up to her, laughing madly when she tried to free herself from his grasp. Kanae wouldn't admit it, but she had fun, too.

"Finally got you, kitty!" Neuro cooed childishly, rubbing his cheek playfully on Yako's as he squeezed her tight, not caring of the sweat that had trickled down her face from all that running. Yako gave up after a few seconds of struggling in his vicegrip, sighing as she let him have his way on her instead—she giggled when he made a comical kissy face and pecked her forehead.

From behind Neuro, Kanae was stifling a smile—_Nougami-san looks like a cat with his favorite toy. Tee hee!_

* * *

><p>Monday—and the school hallways were full of life as the traditions of Valentine's Day loomed in every corner.<p>

Today was a busy day.

Most females who were with their boyfriends flaunt their relationship to others, while other couples simply slid to a corner and shyly exchange a few words of affection or even the ever-popular notion of chocolate-giving from the females. _Some_ females, who were without a boyfriend, but have crushes or idols, would courageously go from room to room in search of their love interest—and would give them their homemade chocolate.

Neuro was no exception to the annual occasion.

Several males blocked the doorway, putting yardsticks on the slides as for the door not to be opened. When the knocking and chanting from the other side seemed to escalate, one classmate of Neuro's took up the courage to stand up to him.

"Neuro-_sama!_ There's too many of them this year! _Please_ make them stop!"

Neuro, who had his socked feet propped up on poor Yako's shoulders as usual, only scoffed and waved a dismissive hand to his classmate, his black-green eyes not leaving the book he was reading.

"Feh. I'm busy."

And his male classmates gaped at him, but they found no courage to oppose him—so they continued blocking the sliding doors with all their might as females from the hallway filed and piled in front of Neuro's homeroom. Freshmen, juniors and seniors alike chanted his name, raising their hands full of boxed and ribbon-decked chocolates.

There were even some (courageous) males, too, wanting to have a glimpse of Yako or even Mutsuki and offer to them their chocolate (as strange as it sounded)—though they were on a fewer number than the females.

Some blamed it on the three looming bodyguards near the boys. Some even blamed it on the angry-faced Godai Shinobu yelling profanities on the hordes of students blocking his way.

Inside the classroom, Yako heaved a sigh as she leaned back on her chair, inadvertently giving Neuro's socked feet access to her chest.

She stopped those wayward feet with her hands before they could inevitably slip beneath her uniform.

Behind her, Neuro blankly smiled.

Kanae came up to Yako, sighing deeply as she tiredly drawled. "Yako, one of you three—Mucchan, that means you, too—need to go out and purge this madness! There are some people in this classroom who have lives and some of them _badly_ need to use the toilet! We've been cooped up in here for over an hour! Even Jun-_sensei_ can't stop those students!"

"Psh. Kanae-_chan_, Jun-_sensei_ couldn't stop _anything_."

"Ugh, that's not my point! ...Nougami-_san?_ Could you stop them? I know you could!"

A book was now draped over Neuro's face, his back leaning on his chair with his hands folded neatly on his stomach—

Kanae screeched, "He's not even listening!"

* * *

><p>"Haah—that was back-breaking!"<p>

"Kanae-_chan_, that wasn't even hard—"

"It wasn't even hard? It wasn't even _hard?_ Yako, did you know what we just went through? We just snuck out of our own classroom. Our _own_ classroom! Using a trampoline that Yuki so graciously provided us because we couldn't get out of our _own_ classroom no thanks to that insane horde! We had to jump from the window _three floors_ all the way to the trampoline! What if we had broken our bones back there!"

Yako giggled at the way Kanae was reacting to the whole thing. But really, the experience was thrilling to Yako. Having to experience all sorts of tortures—both painful and pleasurable—from the hands of Neuro himself, having to jump from a window was nothing short of somewhat a quick break from her usual punishments.

Besides, Neuro jumped out of the window while hugging Yako—now _that_ was fun!

Kanae sighed and gave up trying to explain herself to her best friend. Instead, she looked at Mutsuki to find some sort of solace—only to find the little teen swaying on her feet while humming.

"That was fun, Kana-_nee!_ Let's do it again sometime!"

Kanae paled, and slapped a palm to her forehead as Yako and Mutsuki giggled and gave each other a high-five, cheering to give the trampoline another round of "exciting" jump-falls.

Neuro and Yukinori merely chuckled.

"So, Nougami. How about it? Ya up to it?"

"Up to what?" Neuro noticed that Yukinori's elbow was now perched awkwardly on his shoulder, thanks to the apparent twelve-centimeter difference in their height.

"The last thing we will do in this school after our final exams. We have one day. Or should I say, we have one _night_. Right before our graduation practice, we will do it."

Neuro's interest was piqued, and a thin eyebrow rose. "I'm listening."

Yukinori grinned in a way that rivaled Neuro's own feral grin.

"Well, first—we need the whole senior department to cooperate."

The girls, who had been talking idly about the cliché homemade chocolate tactic, fell silent once they heard the mention of the whole senior department.

"What are you planning?" the girls curiously asked.

Yukinori's grin widened even more.

* * *

><p>Neuro was in the Katsuragi washroom, pondering about Yukinori's plans about the "school sabotage", as he put it. He had been thinking about it for a week. A sabotage at night? In school? It definitely sounded promising and thrilling.<p>

But first...

"Yako," Neuro called out as soon as he finished brushing his teeth, "we need proper garb for the occasion!"

Yako looked at his reflection through her table mirror, her face was filled with what Neuro assumed as faux egg white mask. "Wha' garb?" she asked slowly and almost inaudibly, as the mask was tightening her skin, making her almost impossible to speak loudly and coherently.

"For the camp night-out, stupid. We need proper equipment and such―we should start with outfits."

"Y'soun' 'xcited."

She watched him plop on her bed, his pearly whites smiling at her as he spoke.

"Of course I am. We get this one and only chance to get back at the teachers who made us suffer for three whole years! How could you _not_ be excited? And Yako. Remove that hideous thing on your face. You look like a geisha that has been trampled over by a truckload of bird's feces. You look uglier than usual."

"Thanksh fer th'compliment, y'ass."

"Why, you're welcome, Dungface!"

* * *

><p>On the night after their final exam day, the strange pair came to school dressed like they were about to go to a suicide mission―donning shiny, black and spandex-like clothing that clung tightly to their skins from neck to foot, Neuro and Yako resembled like a pair of assassins casually strolling amongst the civilian crowd. The couple stood out like a sore thumb.<p>

Neuro didn't seem to mind at all. Yako, on the other hand, had been crouching and hiding behind Neuro the whole time they were on the streets—she looked red and shamefaced while her partner was broadly smiling.

It was a pleasantly cool night. A perfect night to prepare certain tasks―pranks, as some might call it―and the most of the senior department were involved in taking part, simply because Yukinori told them so.

Hisanori had no qualms in what his little brother was planning. The elder Hayasaka knew what the senior student body was about to do, and frankly, he found it amusing.

I want all the details of this prank you will pull, was what Hisanori said to his brother earlier―and Yukinori was fine with it.

So the graduating students giggled and excitedly planned what to do on the gracious opportunity they had. Some ideas were absurd, while some ideas were plain funny.

And it came about that Neuro's ideas were completely far-fetched, as Yukinori commented, but the platinum-haired male liked it.

Carrying out the plan was exciting in itself. Some of the senior students, who were friends and also couples, were having fun―some of them even found their friendship being renewed, as some of them rarely had time to be together since the exam-preparation month and exam hell started.

Couples exchanged ideas for pulling pranks rekindled their young love.

All in all, Kanae thought it was a nice post-Valentine night for all of them, single or not.

She was looking at the lively atmosphere in the school hallways, feeling quite charged herself, and when Kanae looked at one of the windows, she saw Neuro happily putting wide strips of transparent, double-sided tape on the sides of the corners of the walls, and when asked what they were for, Neuro simply replied a gleeful "It's for those trying-hard-to-be-cool shitheads who keep on leaning on these perfectly clean walls." Kanae said no more.

Yako, on the other hand, was in charge of the buckets of flour tied and raised on top of the doorways in each room, making sure to leave the faculty room alone.

That was Yukinori and Mutsuki's job.

Shinobu was in charge of putting cellophane wraps―a classic―on the toilet bowls in the men's restrooms. Kanae was in charge of the girl's restrooms.

Once all the preparations were finished, along with putting emergency kits of extra supplies, clothes and towels in the seniors' respective lockers just in case something would go wrong, they did a complete look-over, just to check if everything was in place.

They had finished everything by eleven o'clock.

"Yo, students," Yukinori sternly called out to his schoolmates that were gathered inside the auditorium, "it's now getting really late for most of us to go home and with all this havoc we will cause tomorrow―be prepared, by the way―I, as the brother of the school's owner, respectfully propose that all of us should all stay here for the night. And―and―ssh, quiet, kiddos―that is why I have previously requested all of those who are here tonight to bring your school uniforms (ironed, I hope), and your own sleeping bags and necessities. If you don't have any or you didn't bring any, sucks to be you. You have to share a sleeping bag with someone so ya won't get cold for the night. Clear? And if ya'll wondering if it's safe to sleep in tonight, it's fine. My guards are all over the place to protect us all."

Some students, mainly the males, gave a loud whoop and a high-five, some waggling eyebrows and nudging elbows to each other. Some, who were the usual silent ones, stood blankly, looking stunned and wide-eyed at the haughtily smirking Yukinori standing on the stage. Some females squealed in excitement, while some fidgeted in their feet and looked unsure and nervous. Some called their parents on their phones and informed them of the change of schedule for the night. Some females gave their boyfriends a huge hug and squealed.

Yukinori, who was proudly watching their reactions with a wide smirk, raised his fist and raised his voice to the whole auditorium.

"Consider this as our last night of our youth! Don't miss out on the chance of being with yer boyfriend or girlfriend for tonight! Now, unless a couple is always together even at night," Yukinori stole a quick glance and wink at Neuro's direction in the crowd, "this is gonna be your opportunity to say what ya feel to yer loved ones! Friends, enemies (I sure hope there aren't any in this batch) friends-turned-not-so-friends-anymore, couples who are still together since junior high, couples who broke up during the last two years of our high school, and couples who will be together after all of this―feel free to patch things up or rekindle lost friendships or put some (positive) spice in your relationship! In a few days time, we won't see each other anymore―would you like to leave this school with ruined relationships? Of course not! So make this your last chance of bonding with everyone! The single ones, too. Talk to yer crushes or something! Oh, one last thing, if the couples want to have a steamy night of lovin', I suggest leave it for now and do it some time later when we're not at school. This is a night of fuzzy, fluffy cuddling, not smexing."

And the auditorium roared with joy.

"I didn't think he'd plan this night to be so thorough," Yako excitedly said in Neuro's ear. Her wide brown eyes looked at her schoolmates and classmates alike―most of them looked excited at the prospect of being with their friends for a whole night, some of them were silent, but Yako could see in their eyes that they were joyous, judging from their small smiles.

Yako, in her eager state of observing her classmates' joyful reactions, failed to notice the large hand that had covertly held hers. As soon as Yako looked at their entwined hands, she looked at a lopsidedly smiling Neuro, who had his gaze averted from her. Yako didn't hold back a full-blown smile as she held his hand tighter. _He's shy!_

When Yukinori descended from the stage, he was greeted by an overjoyed Kanae, who kissed him full on the lips.

Some of the students who were near the stage cheered.

And so time struck its hands at midnight, and by that time, sleeping bags occupied by the senior students were scattered in the auditorium. Some students easily went fast to sleep with their friends, while some had a hard time sleeping being with so many people.

Some slept near the walls, like Shinobu, as he had no sleeping bag to rest in. And when Mutsuki offered him a space in her bag, he blatantly refused, saying that he shouldn't take advantage of such an opportunity. So Mutsuki slept soundly beside him, offering him a blanket instead, to which the latter accepted with a barely-hidden flush of reddish cheeks.

All slept well. With the help of two fluorescent lights placed on the each of the entrance doors (as the rest of the lights were turned off), they served as an aid should anyone wake up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom near the auditorium.

Kanae and Yukinori shyly slept beside one another in their own bedrolls while Neuro and Yako brought only one that was big enough for the two of them to fit in. Yukinori had commented, right before they were about to rest, that seeing the Neuron and his Kitten sleeping so close together was making the other couples envious—since it was natural for Neuro and Yako to sleep in one bed together, the others would have to suffer in awkwardness of suddenly being so physically close.

Neuro, who already had Yako securely tucked in his arms beneath the warmth of the cot, had merely smirked at Yukinori then. In truth, Neuro failed to find the difficulty of sleeping with their other halves (as he mentally dubbed it)—if one held attraction towards another, then it would be easy to fall asleep with them, right?

Or maybe it came as a second nature for Nougami to sleep with Katsuragi because they've been doing it since they were kids, was what Yukinori thought as he observed the now sleeping pair. The platinum-haired male couldn't sleep a wink—as his face was now completely draped with Kanae's brown hair.

_Now I think Nougami's lucky to have a short-haired female for a fiancée._

Yukinori carefully removed the offending hair from his face and pushed it upwards, curling it at the ends so as for it not to end on the owner's face. _I wonder how she deals with this hair every night._

His eyes then slid back to where Neuro was sleeping. The green-eyed man had his one arm tucked under Yako's head, and the other was draped protectively around her torso. From where Yukinori was observing, Neuro's lips were placed directly on Yako's forehead.

Yukinori blinked, and he looked at Kanae, who was still sleeping while facing away from him.

That was a bummer. _Katsuragi seems to like sleeping facing Nougami._

He gulped, and his throat started to get dry as he shakily put a hand over Kanae's midsection. When he did place his arm there, she started to shift, and he hastily took his arm away, but when she only turned on her back, Yukinori heaved a sigh of relief. He placed his arm on her torso once more, and he inched closer to her, trying to let sleep take over him.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p>When Yukinori's alarm rang at five-thirty in the morning, he knew he had to immediately rise so he wouldn't press the snooze button on his phone, unless he wanted everyone to be late in getting to class on time.<p>

Waking up to Kanae hugging him was a good enough reason for him not to rise from his sleep all of a sudden. Needless to say, the gesture, as unconsciously done as it was, put a smile on Yukinori's face.

When he sat up five minutes later, he noticed that some of the sleeping bags were rolled up, some were hastily unkempt and undone, and most of the students were still grumbling and rolling in their sleep.

Yukinori immediately had an idea as he looked at his schoolmates' sleeping faces.

Carefully removing Kanae's possessive arm on him, he rummaged through his backpack as noiselessly as he could, and when he took out a camera from his bag, he snickered to himself and stealthily stood up.

The first on his list of "sleeping faces to capture" was Kanae, of course. After taking five pictures of her sleeping face, he moved on to the next one.

_Ah, the formidable couple._

He tiptoed over to where Neuro and Yako were, the two of them still sleeping in dreamland as he readied his camera, and when he was about to click the shutter, he had the heart attack of his life as Neuro's eyes immediately snapped wide open towards him.

"What are you doing?" Neuro whispered to the stunned Yukinori, as to not wake up Yako who was still adorably snuggling next to him.

"Um, taking pictures?" Yukinori whispered just as low, his lips were now curled in a forced, teethy smile, and he wasn't sure if Neuro was a morning person or not. _Bad move, self!_

He visibly deflated in relief when he saw Neuro shrugging, whispering a quiet, "Skip us and don't even take a single picture of us, that's my job" to a nervously gulping Yukinori.

He deftly obeyed Neuro, to say the least, and moved on to other students who were still sleeping.

* * *

><p>By six-thirty in the morning, Yukinori's stashes of pictures were already pinned on the bulletin boards throughout the school—secretly, of course. He made it sure that no one noticed him casually loitering the hallways, whistling while covertly "looking" at some of the announcements pinned on the boards.<p>

By seven-thirty, teachers and staff were now starting to arrive at school. Yukinori, who had been on the look-out from one of the glass windows to see who will arrive at what time, hurriedly urged the senior students to return to their respective classrooms and get ready.

By eight o'clock, the ruckus began.

Starting from the from the faculty room to the storage rooms, screams from both men and women echoed down the hallways.

Some senior students snickered and giggled in their classrooms as each lookout from each class reported what was happening.

In Neuro and Yako's classroom, much of the laughter was contained, as ordered by Mutsuki, so the others from the outside won't be suspicious.

By eight-fifteen, the freshmen, juniors and members of the school clubs arrived. It was only a matter of time before hollering and cursing reverberated throughout the whole school.

No one from the senior department emerged from their classroom—feigning innocence.

By the time the bell had rung, and much of the crying from the hallways have ceased, the seniors tried to wipe the broad grins from their faces when their homeroom teachers entered each class.

In Class 3-A, Ishigaki Jun appeared from the classroom's doorway sporting an angry face. On his navy blue suit was a slimy mess of starch mixed with gravy. Neuro covered his mouth, trying to stop himself from guffawing. As soon as the teacher entered, a bucket of feathers and flour dropped on his head.

The whole class bursted in laughter.

* * *

><p>The sun was fast setting, and somewhere in the streets of Shibuya, laughter echoed from a high school girl carrying a backpack.<p>

"—ahaha! A-and then Godai-_san_ tripped on his own prank! Haha!"

"Tch. Stupid bug couldn't even do one thing right. He had one job. _One_ job—and he blew it."

"At least he got a decent excuse to approach Mutsuki-_tan_."

"Bah. That tick thinks between his legs."

"Neuro, you don't have to be so stuck-up about it. Sure, the slime didn't land on Honjou-_sensei_'s cup of scorched cardboard tea, but at least it landed on Godai-_san_'s head! Haha!"

Neuro smirked nonetheless, and held Yako's hand as they neared Shibuya Crossing. Once they have safely made it to the other side, Neuro immediately led Yako to the nearest ramen house—as both of them were starving since earlier when they, along with their fellow seniors, cleaned up the whole school as punishment for all the pranks they have pulled. Hisanori knew all that happened beforehand, of course, but the principal, being the principal, thought it would still be fair to make them clean up the mess they caused.

Though for the students, they deemed it as worth it.

As soon as the young couple sat on the nearby table, they ordered ten bowls of ramen—for each of them—completely ignoring the odd looks the waiter gave them.

"I wonder why we don't have any stolen pictures from Yukinori-_san_. You know, the ones with us sleeping? I looked everywhere on each bulletin board in school and found nothing of us," Yako idly asked as she looked at her oddly smiling fiancé. She blinked, her eyes widened as a thought came over her, "You did something, didn't you?"

Neuro gasped and dramatically leaned back on his chair, a hand over his heart as he gaped mockingly at her. "Why, Yako. You _wound_ me. I would _never_ do such a thing!"

"That grin of yours says otherwise. Your actions just gave you away."

He smiled blankly at her and pinched her cheek as he spoke, "Heh. My little pillbug knows me so well. Hm, I must say, I thank my god-like ears for preventing such a thing from happening. He was ready to take a picture of us when I woke—so I said a few words to him to make sure that we won't be captured on candid cam. Isn't that nice of me? And all that happened while you were drooling on my bicep—"

"I so do _not_ drool, Neuro! And—oh, here's our meal—A-Aizawa-_san?_"

Aizawa Aya stood before their table—donned in the ramen house employee's uniform, and on her fingertips the tray that held four of ten of the ramen bowls that were ordered—even the blonde looked stunned upon seeing Neuro and Yako.

"Katsuragi-_san?_"

* * *

><p>Horrid grunts and screams shook the white walls of the now pungent room. In the middle of the whiteness, Jody remained bound and bloody in his now rickety wooden chair. In front of him, Hisanori stood and smiled.<p>

"Still not elaborating after all that torture you had from different people's hands? From me, the police, little Mutsuki, Nougami-_kun_, Katsuragi-_chan_, _then_ back to the police, _then_ back to me—my, you have an impressive amount of endurance!"

Jody grumbled and choked out bloody spit to the foul-odored floor. Hisanori's nose twitched and rolled his eyes, sighing.

"Very well. You asked for it... Mutsuki!"

The little teen, who had been standing by two feet behind Hisanori, smiled and swayed on her feet, her hands placed on her back as she acknowledged his call. "Yes, Hisanori-_jii?_"

"Please prepare your serum. Any moment, I could call you over here."

"Yes, sir!" and she happily slid out her favorite stiletto switchblade knives from her fingerless forearm gloves.

Merciless black eyes looked at the bruised and bloodied man. "You know what, Tubulik-_san_, we could have been acquaintances, friends even, if only you hadn't done such a thing. Having an affair with a student of my school wasn't enough for you, apparently, so you dirtied your hands on _other_ schools to get your, what do you call it? Ah, yes. _Business_, was it?"

The sound of clopping shoes clacked against the floor, its leather squeaking as Hisanori paced aimlessly, a little smile gracing his unreadable features as he spoke jovially.

"_You_ had a business, as what you called it. You called it, hm, a friendly way of saying 'acquainting' yourself with others, am I right? Well, I must say you have a funny way of describing businesses. Here in Japan, we call it _human trafficking_. Well, in your place—wherever you came from—it seems you think of women, or should I say _children_, as toys. And thanks to your so-called business leaking to the press, you know what happened?" Hisanori stopped pacing and faced the Turk, and when Hisanori noticed that he wasn't listening, his smile faltered altogether—and his eyes snapped open as wide as he could and went over to the nearly-unconscious man, his face inches away from the bloody breath.

"You want to know what happened, Tubulik-_san?_ A number of my students' parents' sent their children to another school in the middle of the year because of the scandal and the murder. _In the middle of the year_—you know how much I lost? _Forty-one million_, at least. It's not even the half of it if you add the reputation I lost. Fifty-seven students _gone_ within a year no thanks to _you_," Hisanori growled and gritted his teeth in anger. "I want you to suffer, you swine. Really. I want you _dead_ because of the mess you made—but not now. Nougami-_kun_ has plans for you, you see—you still have to pay your debt. I bet those wounds were inflicted by him on that day, eh? You unfortunate soul—I can see the start of an infection in your right arm. It's getting green. Poor thing." He shrugged, "Oh, well. That's what a doctor is for."

Jody grumbled in his slipping consciousness, his head lolling about as he tried to utter a reply.

Hisanori's eyebrow rose, and he clapped, "You're now awake? Oh, good! All the easier to see your guest, then! Mutsuki, if you please. Tubulik-_san_, I'm quite sure you will be utterly _thrilled_ to see this person."

The white-painted mahogany door opened, and through Jody's blurred vision, a small, tan-skinned boy entered the room—a boy with black hair, donned in baggy sweats and jeans along with a green scarf around his neck, and had the most startling shade of golden-brown eyes.

Jody Tubulik spurted out blood as he weakly called out the boy's name.

"Vijaya..."

The boy smiled coldly at the broken man, his head tilted slightly to one side as he mustered an icy greeting and took out a syringe from his pocket.

"Hello, Master._ You missed me?"_

* * *

><p>Yako had just finished rearranging her closet—as Neuro had rummaged through it earlier to get his shirt—when she felt a familiar pair of arms snaking around her midriff.<p>

She giggled, "Neuro, s-stop—you're tickling me—"

"Struggle all you want, kitty. You're my prisoner," and he hoisted her, and feeling delight in hearing her squeals of laughter, he plopped her on the side of her bed, and Neuro followed suit, smothering her with his weight.

She heaved a sigh as she welcomed his warmth on her, her honey-brown eyes gazing at the ceiling as she took in the scent of Irish spring from Neuro's hair. "So, Aizawa-_san_ was disowned by her own parents for purposely failing their expectations on trying to woo you into marrying her. Just like that. They disowned her like she's not their flesh and blood, just like that. They abandoned her in a country she has little familiarity with all because of that reason. Where is justice when you need it."

A muffled huff and response was heard from the vibrations of Neuro's voice on her jugular, "Hmph. Don't worry over the trivial matters, louse. She's not our problem." He felt her slim fingers threading through his hair, and he sighed.

"But I feel sorry for her. Sure, she couldn't fulfill what her parents want—not that I'll let them if it involves you, anyway—but it doesn't mean that they should _disown_ her. I mean, she is their _daughter!_ That's so unfair and cruel."

Neuro looked at her and nuzzled her cheek with his nose, smiling, "Some families are just way colder than ice, Yako. Remember that." And he pecked her cheek as he hummed a random tune for her, his mood now shifting to his nightly calm.

In an attempt to change the topic—as the subject of families might be too sensitive for Neuro, she mused—Yako's mind wandered elsewhere. "I wonder how Hayasaka-_san_ is doing. Is he still torturing him?"

"Like I care. I heard from the little one that the police found the new guy the Corpse mentioned a few days back. I want to know if he's also as insane as him."

"You're excited about that, huh. Well, I'm more excited on the fact that Aizawa-_san_ is working in the ramen house where Godai-_san_ works."

Neuro looked at Yako's bright gaze, she looked back, and they smiled knowingly at each other.

"Oh, I know what you're thinking, you little minx," Neuro said, his grin still wide.

"It's going to be a rollercoaster ride for Godai-_san_ from now on," Yako said, her smile mimicking Neuro's own.

* * *

><p>We all know that Godai has a huge crush on Aya in the anime and manga, don't we? :D Oh, and review plz~ :3<p> 


	24. Tertio Mense

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Four: Tertio Mense <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** To N'seka, as someone who is quite familiar with Hostel, I lol'd at your review. XD Sorry 'bout the torture scenes, though. D: Don't worry, I hadn't planned on putting a squicky scene in this chapter. You can breathe easily on this one. XD And to Person 2, why, yes, yes you could review each chapter. It would make my little fangirl heart happy if you do~ (OvO)

On another note, as the Japanese are very meticulous in ceremonies, I found the way they held their graduation ceremonies to be quite interesting. Detail-overload ahead. Plus, I don't own any of the songs that will be mentioned in this chapter, though I _do_ own the translation provided in one of the songs here.

...I miss my high school days.

* * *

><p>A day after their school cleaning, and it was already graduation practice for the senior students. The teachers and the principal arranged the school preparations in the auditorium. Some curious freshmen took a peek from the outside, as they were not required to attend the graduation ceremony. Some juniors who were members in different school clubs were already inside, as the whole junior department was required to attend.<p>

The hall was filled with numerous seats to accommodate the people who will attend the ceremony tomorrow. On the four corners of the hall were camera stands and light stands. There were no banners and streamers yet. Everything looked plain for the time being.

By nine o'clock, practice started. The homeroom teachers stood at the foot of the stage, sternly nodding and some wiping the sweat off of their faces, as they looked at the students.

The senior students, 180 in all, started to file in. Starting with Class 3-A, they entered the auditorium formed in two lines, split in males and females. They were arranged according to their surnames.

From the far end of the hall, some of the junior girls stifled their squeals as Neuro appeared, sporting a little smile.

Strictness of proper conduct were to be observed during practice, as it was usually the time when the teachers would be agitated and short-tempered due to the stress of the short time frame of practicing.

Once Class 3-A filed in on the seats provided for them, and once they were instructed to be seated by Jun―as he was their homeroom teacher―Class 3-B entered, as neatly as the previous, and this time, a flash of camera was heard as Yukinori entered with his signature haughty grin.

The process repeated itself until Class 3-D entered, and once all were seated and all were vaguely instructed to stand and sing the national anthem on the day of event itself, they were to be seated and given further instructions on the things that will come next.

Somewhere along the strict English teacher Noma Kaoruko's instructions, Yako started to zone off, thinking about the food she will eat after the long day ahead. After a few minutes of daydreaming, she felt someone poking her lower back, and she heard Kanae's voice whisper in her ear.

"_Think of food later, Yako. Now is not the time to be spacing out._"

Yako grumbled and didn't bother to look behind her, as Jun was now eyeing her with a little shake of his head.

She clamped her lips shut and looked at the stage instead.

* * *

><p>Five o'clock, and practice was over. With the students breathing relief after a hard day's work of politeness and forced smiles to the teachers, they dispersed with much restraint, however, when some students became emotional at the thought of not having to see them after graduation. Yako, for one, had bawled upon seeing her classmates hugging and crying. Neuro, however, had remained silently smiling still, opting to let Yako busy herself with saying her farewells to her juniors who visited their homeroom right before they left for the day.<p>

Pictures have been taken on numerous cameras from both teachers and students alike; Yukinori's stolen shots were also a great hit, as he had made a decent amount of fortune after selling some of the pictures to the students. Parting gifts from the freshmen were also given to their idols as a token of gratitude for being a model to others for the past three years.

Being the most popular guy in school, Neuro, as urged by usual school tradition, took his spare uniform from his schoolbag, ripped off the buttons and cuffs, and handed―_threw_―them over to the throngs of girls crowding the outside of his classroom.

Yako had merely laughed back then.

* * *

><p>Music was heard from Yako's computer, for once. A sad and solemn ballad of harmonica and acoustic guitar filled the air―and Yako, being Yako, was sitting on her swivel chair, searching for new recipes for food on the net. A big grin and a wee bit of drool graced her face as she added a bookmark of a site about the golden opulence.<p>

"Tomorrow's the big day, little louse," Neuro chirped to Yako. He was lying on her bed, a book in his hand and a bag of potato chips on the other. Tonight, they could relax, for tomorrow will be their graduation day. The only thing they really had to worry about was for them not to trip on their way to the stage.

Yako idly hummed the song she was hearing with a little tear from her eye. She acknowledged his comment with a little nod, and she faced him with the same wide smile that she had been sporting for the past hour, "After the ceremony, we could go to Kozue!"

Neuro's eyes lit up at the suggestion, "Kozue? For lunch? Ceremony ends at eleven thirty, maggot. We wouldn't make it in Shinjuku in time after the picture-taking session and gift exchange."

"I'm thinking of dinner, actually. We could find proper attire for the occasion tomorrow after graduation―the restaurant has strict dress codes. We could reserve seats for tomorrow and―you know what, I'll ask my parents first. Tomorrow is going to be a family affair, right? We should bring Aomi-_san_, too," Yako then glanced at the clock on her computer screen, and hastily stood up excitedly. "It's only six! I should tell them now and make reservations before nine!" and she rushed about and hopped on her way to the door to tell her parents of what she had in mind, leaving Neuro smiling and shaking his head as he read his book.

"Kozue, eh." _I hear the view from that restaurant is spectacular._

* * *

><p>Graduation day.<p>

The day that parents would sigh and bawl from happiness of seeing their child walk toward the stage to get the fine piece of paper everyone called a diploma. It was the day that teachers would be seen smiling and sighing about in relief as they would see another batch of their students graduating through their efforts of patiently teaching said students with much gusto.

It was the most colorful day of the school as streamers, banners, balloons and flowers adorned the hallways. Sounds of various people talking and laughing filled the air―some would be heard uttering a cry of joy or a choked sob.

It was the day that the freshmen and juniors would get to see their respected seniors getting dolled-up for the event―it was also the day when they would see their seniors wearing their uniform for the last time. Some seniors would be seen fidgeting from having a piece of flower pinned to their double-breasted coats by their parents or by their fellow classmates, or even by themselves. Some of them, mainly the females, would shed a tear or two to their schoolmates and best friends, then they would later on fan themselves as to not ruin their neutral makeup. Some males also cried, albeit discreetly, to their friends, and would give others a friendly pat on the back along with a fist bump. Young couples would be seen hugging and smiling while crying―

―but not Neuro and Yako.

The most popular couple in school was surrounded with crying students, along with the three student-bodyguards that Mutsuki "hired", and Yako tried to comfort them all while trying not to cry herself. Neuro merely stood and smiled, offering a word of wisdom or two―that usually involved a lighthearted insult as expected from him.

A teacher from the hallway called out and clapped loudly to catch the attention of the students. The students' murmurs fell silent as Ishigaki Jun asked the students to prepare themselves.

It was the tenth of March at ten o'clock. It was Neuro and Yako's birthday and graduation day. Today, they have just turned 19 years old.

Freshmen students were kindly asked by teachers to return to their respective classrooms, and the juniors already readied themselves to go the upper floor of the auditorium.

Senior students held in their breath as they filed down the hallways, most of them wearing smiles on their faces as they walked outside their building and made their way towards the auditorium.

A red carpet was laid on the floor where the students walked under the welcoming sun, and as they neared the hall, excited murmurs and a soft piano arrangement of _Hotaru no Hikari_ filled their ears.

As the students heard Noma Kaoruko's voice calling out to them from the speakers, the senior students marched in, led by their homeroom teachers. Each class was divided into two perfect lines, arranged according to their surnames; and once a class stood before the seats provided for them, their homeroom teacher would raise a hand with the palm faced down, and the class would sit as another class would march, and the process would repeat for three more times―exactly as how they practiced it.

The first thing the seniors saw as soon as they have entered the hall was the large crowd of clapping parents and other family members seated at the back. The blue-curtained stage was lined with flowers and ribbons, and a large white screen that held the name of their school covered the draperies. On the far left was the Japanese flag, and placed not from afar were four chairs meant for the four third-year homeroom teachers. On the far right was a long table, and seated there were the principal, the chairman and the Director of the Board of Education. On the center was the podium where the graceful yet stern Noma Kaoruko stood as the Master of Ceremonies, dressed in her formal attire of black kimono embroidered with cherry blossom petals. The juniors were seated on the upper level, smiling and clapping as their seniors marched down the red carpet.

Cameramen―who were also part of the school staff―were pacing to and fro, filming the students as they marched.

When all the students were seated, complete silence filled the hall, and when Kaoruko gracefully held her right palm upwards, all the students, and later on, everyone, stood.

They sung the national anthem, and once done, they took their seats.

A small smile graced Kaoruko's elegant features, seemingly pleased. She nodded once, and the students stood once again.

A pregnant pause echoed in their ears for ten seconds, the silence almost deafening as the students remained standing with their backs straight and their shoulders squared as they looked attentively at the English teacher.

She nodded once more, batting her thick eyelashes this time, and the senior students bowed lowly. Once prompted to be seated, they all sat in complete unison.

Opening remarks have always been kept quite short, and after ten minutes of hearing Noma Kaoruko speak, each class was called once more for individual recognition.

Class 3-A stood first, and from a distance, Neuro could hear Zera bawling from the back.

The master of ceremonies called out each student's name, and once a student was called, they were to respond with a curt and lively "_Yes!_" and would walk up the stage and bow to the Chairman and the Director, then they would walk up to the line of teachers to receive their diploma. They were to receive the diploma with their right hand, switch it to their left, and shake the teachers' hands with their right. Then they would walk towards Hisanori and bow lowly before him, and a handshake would follow, and they would take a quick snapshot from one of the photographers standing below. Then the student would bow to the principal once more, and the student would walk down the stage―and the process would repeat.

Once the last student from the last class was called, that student would approach the principal to receive their diploma, face the crowd, raise the diploma above his head, then bow and walk down the stage.

The process was tiring enough, and by the time Hisanori was making his 15-minute long speech, Neuro was close to yawning.

Not that he would do that, anyway.

The Director of the Board then made his speech, a much shorter one than Hisanori's, followed by a junior student's tear-filled speech, followed by the valedictorian's speech.

Neuro, as the expected valedictorian, was called, and he walked up to the podium in his cool grace, and gave the crowd a flash of his fanged smile.

From the upper level, he saw several flashes of white blinding his eyes―lights flashing from the juniors' cameras, he assumed.

He held no written speech in his hand, as there was no need for it―everything was stored in his memory. The teachers, for one, were not surprised.

Neuro gave another wide grin to the crowd, and he spoke, "Good day, everyone. First, I must say that today, we are done with everything. From homework to projects to exams that cram our heads. Are you thinking of that, too? If some of you are, you are quite mistaken. You see, there are still colleges and universities to traverse―those high-end and prestigious schools that we are all trying to attain once we step out of this school. It's the type of school that will surely make a huge crater in our parents' pockets―"

There was clapping and laughter from the crowd.

"―and there are still the university exams that we have passed. A hundred-percent passing score for everyone, isn't that great!"

Cheers and clapping erupted from everyone, and some students joyfully cried out to him as some parents at the backseats looked at each other with awe from what the valedictorian said. In truth, the students owed it all to Neuro―as he was the one who taught everyone the techniques to pass the exams during his spare time. He taught them the honest way, of course.

From the long table where Hisanori sat, Neuro could see the principal whispering something to the Chairman and the Director, and they smiled and nodded and clapped approvingly at Neuro. The green-eyed young man deserved the praise, as the task of bringing everyone to the university and college that they want was clearly a daunting one.

Neuro had always been proud of his achievements, to say the least―and try as he might, he couldn't wipe the wide grin from his face as he continued on with his speech. Looking at the people he strived to bring to the top universities and colleges seemed impossible enough to others, but not to him. And as he spoke towards the end of his fifteen-minute speech, he looked only at Yako, who was seated at the second row, and had been smiling widely at him the whole time. Pride and joy filled her teary eyes, and he couldn't help but smile even wider.

When all was said and done, and he had stepped down the podium with a curt bow to the crowd, he walked down the stage with that same wide grin.

All the while, everyone clapped.

Once Kaoruko had walked up to the podium once more and thanked the students she became so proud of, some could swear that they saw a hint of a tear from the corner of her small eyes.

From Class 3-A, a sniffle from Shinobu was heard.

When prompted to stand, the seniors stood to sing the school song. Once it was done and Kaoruko requested the graduates to remain standing, the president and vice president of the school's Music Club (both junior students) ascended the stage and stood in the center. A black-haired girl of 17 years of age held up her right hand just as the other girl held up a harmonica in front of a microphone stand, and the song that Yako had been playing for the past few days resonated through the speakers.

The intro, a maudlin sound of harmonica, echoed within the hall, and when the Music Club's president started to beat her hands to the tune, the students sang in chorus.

"_On the days when loneliness covers me,_

_I open that old and leather-bound book_

_And in the graduation photo, I will see_

_that person with the gentle eyes._"

The beginnings of sniffles were heard from the females as they sang.

"_On that time when I saw you in town,_

_I couldn't even say anything_

_Because you still looked exactly just like that day_

_when we had our graduation photo._"

From behind Yako, she felt a hand tugging on her own, and when she craned her neck to look back, she saw Kanae, who had her head bowed, and she was sniffling as she sang in her now broken voice. Yako smiled nonetheless, and held her best friend's hand. From behind Kanae, Mutsuki smiled and patted her back.

"_I am now washed away in the crowd,_

_And I have been changing since that day_

_But now and then, from the distance,_

_you scold me when I lose my way._"

Choked cries were heard from the male students, particularly from Shinobu, as they croaked. Neuro and Yukinori, though, remained singing from where they stood, with no hint of a choked cry in their voices.

"_Just like a voice speaking gently to me,_

_Beneath the trembling willow trees,_

_is the path that I used to take but now I_

_could only sadly watch from a train._"

Sobs and muffled sniffles echoed from juniors and seniors alike, and from the seated on the far left of the stage, Ishigaki Jun took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

"_The way of life that we had that time,_

_Do not ever forget it_

_You are the springtime of my life_

_The memory of my youth._"

By the time the last note was heard, the song finished and the junior students on the stage bowed and left, most of the students and some of the teachers wiped tears from their eyes.

Kaoruko ascended the podium for the final time and thanked everyone in the auditorium with a proud smile and said the closing remarks. Once everyone settled down, she calmly observed each student in front of her, and when she gracefully held out her right hand with her palm facing upwards, the seniors from the first line of seats stood promptly, and they bowed lowly to their teachers.

It wasn't a part of what they practiced beforehand, but as the graduates bowed, they voiced out a loud "_Thank you very much!_" to their teachers, and they stood straight with broad smiles on their faces, and retreated as orderly as they entered.

A very pleased Hisanori nodded as the Chairman whispered to him, "They are the best batch of students you have ever had."

And Hisanori couldn't agree more as he looked at the fourth row of students where a now bowing Nougami Neuro stood and smiled amongst his classmates. The principal proudly nodded to himself and said to the Chairman and the Director, "Yes, they are truly the best students I've ever had."

Graduation Day ended with much crying and laughing from everyone. Students said their final farewells to their classmates and schoolmates as they now held their yearbook in their hands. The graduates now had numerous flower wreaths around their necks, with Neuro having at least seven, as he was the top-notch student.

Much hugging and crying commenced when the freshmen greeted their seniors once they were outside, giving the graduates gifts of much sentimental value.

The freshmen bowed when a grinning Yukinori emerged from the exit. Behind him, Kanae discreetly held his hand as they walked towards her parents and she finally introduced him as her boyfriend to them. Upon hearing whose brother Yukinori was, Kanae's mother and father bowed in respect just as Hisanori appeared behind his younger brother and congratulated him. Yukinori held back a tear.

From near the juniors, Mutsuki, because of her small stature, was repeatedly being held and tossed up high by her very proud (and morally questionable) grandfather.

Needless to say, it was the first time that Neuro, Yako and Kanae saw the quite intriguing old man. And when they saw Mutsuki being kissed by the creepy man—the three had the same thought: _I want to rip my eyes off!_

Shinobu had his head bowed ever since the farewell song had been sung, and he had been trying to keep it all in as he looked at everyone, but with a simple pat and shake on the shoulder from Yukinori, and the bleach-haired male promptly wailed in tears. "I'm not crying, dammit!" was what he repeatedly said as he furiously wiped the completely more-than-obvious tears and snot streaming down his face.

Standing not from afar was Zera, who had been crying the whole time during the ceremony—_"Neuro-sama finally graduated!"_—and he was awkwardly comforted by the Katsuragi couple and Miwako for the whole hour. Yako merely smiled and gave the Nougami caretaker a gentle rub on his upper arm.

Neuro, on the other hand, had yet to get away from the throngs of students, parents and teachers crowding around him, congratulating him and thanking him for a job well done. Some parents who have heard from the teachers what sort of influence Neuro had brought upon their children and the whole school itself for the past three years, bowed lowly to him, and thanked him wholeheartedly for helping everyone. The young man, in turn, bowed discreetly and smiled politely at them as he tried to humble himself in front of the parents and teachers with his perfectly-practiced face of innocence.

All the while, Yako watched her towering fiancé with a wide smile. _He really is too tall compared to the others._

After all the words of congratulations, picture taking, gift exchanging, hugging, crying and saying their final farewells to everyone, the Katsuragi family, Neuro and Zera left the grounds. Though just as when Yako was about to enter the van parked in front of the school—it was provided by Zera (he rarely used it, only on certain occasions)—she was stopped by Kanae, who was running and calling out to her.

"Kanae-_chan—?_" Yako's question was robbed out of her lungs as Kanae suddenly hugged her tight, and Kanae cried.

"We're still best friends, right? Right?"

Tears swelled from Yako's eyes for the umpteenth time as she hugged her back with a broken smile, and a choked sob cracked through her voice.

"What are you saying, Kanae? We have always been best friends. We always have and always will be. Don't make it sound like we're so far away from each other, silly...!"

From the back of the van, Neuro's ethereal jade-obsidian eyes watched Yako with a gentle smile he reserved only for her.

* * *

><p>The night lit sky blanketed the clouds. It was the night after graduation, and as Yako had told Neuro the night before, tonight would be a family-only affair, and since Neuro had already been considered family since he was in sixth grade, he, along with Zera, were also invited.<p>

Kozue. One of the most exquisite restaurants in Tokyo. That's where they were going. And the place was also famous for its strict dress code—no casual wear and wearing of sandals, sneakers or slippers, no ripped-looking jeans and sleeveless or short dress shirts for men.

Haruka earlier urged Neuro and Zera to return home to dress for the night, and then the two were to return to the Katsuragi abode so they could all go together.

Little did Neuro know that his wise little fiancée had asked her mother beforehand to let Neuro return to his house after Zera dropped the Katsuragi family off—

—and it was because of a dress Yako had hidden from Neuro.

Yako had her palms resting against her closet and was now holding her breath as Haruka fitted her daughter in a waist-cinching corset.

"Are you sure you want this, dear? You might not be able to breathe once you eat there."

"I'm—ugh—fine, Mother. Just—I need to look _flawless_ in that dress. Curves are way different than rolls."

"Hm, and may I ask _why_ are you hiding this specific dress from Neuro?"

"Um, because he knows every piece of clothing I own...?"

Haruka paused in her task and raised an eyebrow at her daughter, "Really, now?"

Yako gulped, feeling a bit embarrassed, and she looked directly at her bedroom door, "My closet holds some of his clothes, remember?"

And just like that, Haruka sighed (as though from relief) and smiled, "Oh, right! Miwako-_chan_ washes the household's clothes! Yes, now I remember. Ever since Neuro started staying over here more than often, I remember hearing Miwako-_chan_ personally requesting Neuro that she would be of service to him because he saved you, and since then she started to wash his clothes whenever he would stay over for the night—and she would put his clothes where you kept yours. I see. That's why he knew of your clothes. Silly me, at first I thought that you were showing him your lingerie that's hidden at the back of your closet. Haha!"

Yako merely awkwardly laughed as she slid her guilty eyes to her right, looking blankly at her closet's handles as though the almost slip-up was the poor wooden thing's fault.

_Mother, it's not only my lingerie that I've been showing him lately..._

"... there! Done. Now hurry and try on your dress. If it fits, then we'll do your makeup next. I'm sure you want to look very gorgeous tonight because of him, huh."

Yako merely bit back her smile.

* * *

><p>Neuro and Zera arrived at Yako's house an hour after they had dropped the family of three earlier. Both men—well, man and not-so-man—were now waiting in the Katsuragi living room for the others to finish.<p>

Neuro had his chin-length hair tied back for the night, the little change of hairstyle accented the strong jaw he had, and his black fringe contrasted with his blond hair framed his face just right. For tonight, he wore an emerald-hued, long-sleeved, button-down shirt—that brought out the brightness of his rare green eyes—along with a splash black and gray silk necktie, and over it was a perfectly tailored, jet black, double-breasted suit complemented with a pair of perfectly pressed black slacks. He also wore his newly-bought black leather gentleman's shoes—which were placed near the front door for now, of course. He was sitting on the couch, mentally counting the minutes until the moment he could see his Kitten.

Zera, for once, wore a simple black coat with a white dress shirt and a purple necktie beneath it, along with a matching pair of black pants. The poor caretaker later on realized as they left the Nougami house earlier that his master made him look like a standard bodyguard for an ultra rich man.

(S)he wanted to cry the whole time they were traveling earlier. _This thing I'm wearing emphasizes my cursed bulky shoulders too much!_

The green-eyed male had been twiddling his socked toes when the faint sound of footsteps reverberated from the stairs, and when a not-so-patient Neuro looked behind him, his eyes widened.

There, standing at the foot of the stairs, dressed in a near mid-thigh, body-hugging dress was a smiling Yako.

The first thing Neuro saw was the choker he painstakingly made just for her three years ago. His eyes then greedily took in all of her appearance. Her hair. Her subtle makeup.

Her dress.

For tonight, she chose a fitting, cross shoulder-strapped little claret-red dress that flared at the hip line quite nicely. A thin, burgundy ribbon encircled the topmost layer of the tiered hemline, and it was tied into a little bow on the left side. The wide, cross-shoulder straps were of black hue that accented her femininely-defined collarbones.

Neuro would be lying if he said he wasn't even a bit impressed.

Yako made a little twirl and flashed him a smile, "You like it?"

Neuro's reply was a barely-there smile and a little nod as he opened his arms to her, as though he was about to embrace her—Yako expected so—but he put down his hands to his sides instead, and Yako frowned.

"You don't like it...?"

A still smiling Neuro, in turn, raised an eyebrow at her, his voice remained mute as he simply looked at her, as though he was burning every detail of her appearance in his unfailing memory. She didn't know if he approved of her dress or not, and her heart sank.

Just as a whine was about to slid its way from her quite fetching raspberry-glossed lips, he made a little circling gesture with his ever rude middle finger pointing downwards. Knowing what he meant, she swallowed a pitiful whimper and turned her back towards him.

From behind her, Yako could hear that familiar chuckle from that alluring baritone. She forced back her tears as she bit her lips.

_He's laughing at me! And I even worked extra hard in squeezing myself in that corset and I even put on my best makeup and—_

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off as she felt two strong arms holding her tightly from behind, and a wave of hot breath assaulted her unprepared ear.

"_You're wearing something beneath this thing, aren't you? I can see and feel it._"

Yako gulped and moved her head away from his. _His voice is too husky!_

Neuro chuckled once more, finding delight in her reaction. And he rested his chin on her bare shoulder, "I have the outline of your body memorized since we were eleven, little sow. And I know that you're wearing those stupid shapewear things."

She pouted and crossed her arms, her eyes not meeting his as her finely-plucked brows furrowed, "So what if I'm wearing one?"

"Is it a corset?" His question made Yako think. It was as though he sounded expectant of something.

"What's it to you?" Her tone was cold, and she was still not looking at him as she held her nose up in the air.

"Answer me if it's a corset, piggy."

"So what if it is?" her lower lip jutted out adorably as she huffed.

"So it _is_ a corset?"

She puffed her cheeks, her lips scrunched in a pucker, "Yesh."

She felt his cheek brushing against her hair, and that low voice crept up her ear once more.

"_What if I told you I've been fantasizing about you dressed in nothing but a corset for some time now?_"

Yako's eyes widened and felt her cheeks go aflame.

And his hand discreetly grazed her breasts, his thumb and forefinger flicking the places where her nipples should be as he nibbled on her earlobe.

And in a very uncharacteristic, un-Neuro-like way, she heard him whisper hotly in her ear, "You drive me _mad_ for you, Yako. You know that?" and he gently kissed her exposed shoulders, liking the way she tilted her head back and bit her lip and shivered in his light touch.

Neuro hummed and smiled as he lightly swayed her in his hold.

* * *

><p>The ride to Park Hyatt Hotel was a relatively short but nonetheless comforting ride as Zera and Miwako exchanged laughs the whole time, with Haruka joining in for a bit of gossip on the latest celebrities here and there. Seiichi merely nodded and listened on, not grasping some of the topics fully. Neuro and Yako, though, were content to simply hold each other's hands discreetly, smiling, as their gazes drifted off to the windows to where the streets and the people swiftly passed them by.<p>

It was a comfortable silence between them.

By the time they were by the hotel, it was nearing seven in the evening, and all around them were blinding lights when they entered the building.

"Isn't this great, dear? Our kids are now all grown up," said a cheerful Haruka to Seiichi as they stepped inside an elevator. The Katsuragi couple couldn't hide the fact that they were proud that their daughter and their future son-in-law graduated together. Haruka had been clinging onto her husband since they stepped out of the van. Dressed in a simple eggplant-hued asymmetric dress and a matching pair of slingback shoes, she felt as though she was a teenager once again. Seiichi opted to wear a silver-colored, long-sleeved turtleneck topped with a black suit along with a pair of slate gray pants and brown leather shoes.

Once they arrived at their desired floor and have been accompanied by a waiter to the table reserved for the six of them, Neuro silently took in every detail of the simple yet elegant restaurant.

Decent lighting filled his vision. Glazed bamboo walls and floors painted a nice shade of mahogany brown. Comfortable plush chairs, with each chair's legs and backs made with the same material as the floors. Each table appeared to be the same. An elegant display of the food they will eat was near his left side, along with the chefs who were busy preparing the food for the customers that would surely arrive. Neuro noted that there were few people tonight, not that he minded it at all. Drifting his gaze at his right was the view he had been curious to see.

An amazing view of Tokyo at night through the large, tempered glass windows all over the restaurant.

Neuro felt himself holding his breath at the wonderful sight, and he couldn't help but smile just a little bit as he took in the details of Tokyo's city lights at night.

"Neuro, you look happy," observed a smiling Yako sitting in front of him. She noticed he kept on looking at the night sky with that small smile she loved so much.

"The view here. I like it," he simply said, looking at her eyes this time. Tonight, he felt a new wave of calm filling his whole self, a state of feeling content. He supposed it was because he could see Yako smiling without a care in the world for tonight. Seeing this version of her was a far cry from the petite girl he had been embracing at recent nights—the girl who had been crying over a haunting memory of him being drenched in his own blood.

He felt something tugging in his chest as he looked at her, and for some reason that he couldn't fathom, he had the urge to reach out and touch her hand that was lying on the table. He noticed her nails looked strange—_is that lacquer?_

His urge to hold her grew strong, he didn't know why and it _frustrated_ him, and when she opened the menu laid out on the table by the waiter—_when did he pop up?_—he couldn't hold himself back. Neuro reached out and placed her hand to his cheek, keeping it there as he rubbed his cheek on her warm palm, and the act startled Yako.

"Neuro?" Yako was puzzled. She had never seen him act this way. It was odd. Plus, everyone at their table, including the waiter, was looking at him and her hand, which was awkward. She was speechless.

He kept on rubbing his cheek on her palm with his eyes closed, as though he was in a trance, and when Yako asked him if was feeling tired, he merely shook his head and hummed, all the while not letting go of her hand.

Yako pleasantly smiled at everyone at the table, silently assessing what her fiancé really wanted to convey. "Do you want me to sit next to you?" she asked, and as though she said the magic words, he looked at her with those warm green eyes.

"If you must," he murmured to her wrist, and Yako sported a wide smile.

"He's just a little shy about expressing emotions," she whispered jokingly to the waiter as she stood and made her way behind Neuro, nodding and stifling a smile as Zera chuckled and the Nougami caretaker switched seats with Yako.

Seiichi and Haruka exchanged knowing smiles and stifled laughter.

The waiter stood there rather awkwardly, and opted to grace them a tight-lipped smile and a silent nod instead, and smoothly asked them what their orders will be.

Once everyone have stated their orders—Yako ordered everything in a heartbeat while Neuro ordered half of the food he usually ate—the waiter politely left, scratching his head as he walked away.

Conversation was light, and flitted on from topic to topic.

Haruka observed her daughter happily talking to Neuro, who seemed to act normal now that Yako sat beside him. "Neuro dear, I apologize if this is all we could offer you right now. Eating out with us is probably not what you have in mind—"

Neuro blinked, and quickly catching on, he quickly shook his head and smiled, putting on his innocent façade to her, "Oh, no, no! This is exactly what I imagined it to be. Besides, Yako already told me this was her idea, and I think it's really nice!"

Haruka looked at Yako, "So you told him first?"

Yako looked sheepish for a moment, before glancing at Neuro as she spoke, "Um, yes. He said it... would be fine! Eh heh."

Beneath the table, Neuro's left hand was sliding to her thigh, so she pinched his finger and stepped on his foot with her red Louboutin Torero satin pumps—nevertheless, he was relentless, and rested his hand on her inner thigh.

"Ah, Seiichi-_san_, this might be a bit sudden but… do you mind if I could move in with you for a while?" asked Neuro, still holding up his innocent-looking face.

Everyone at the table gawked at him, all the while, Neuro's faultless countenance remained.

Seiichi, coughed and took in a deep breath, his eyes shifting to his wife as he tried to find the proper words to ask, "Well, um, that was quite unexpected—I mean, you practically live in our house. You and my daughter grew up in front of my eyes and... I can't see any reason to refuse that request, but, why now, may I ask?"

Neuro nodded and smiled as he glimpsed at Yako, batting his eyelashes as he spoke, "Yako and I will be going to different universities once April starts, you see. I will be going to Waseda while she will be going to Toukyou Gaikokugo, and the distance between those two schools is quite... long. I don't think I would be able to handle it if I were to drop her off first then—"

"Neuro, I'll be fine," whined Yako as she clung to his arm. She had a little pout on her lips as she begged him not to do what he wanted to. "It's not like it's always dangerous at night, I could always take the train and—"

Yako stopped talking when she saw those green eyes looking at her forlornly, as though he wanted to say something but he kept holding back.

"I can't let you out of my sight, if something happens to you when I'm not around, I'm afraid I might go on a blind rampage," he said, and his hand that was previously on her thigh tightly grasped her hand, afraid of letting go.

"...Oh," Yako mumbled, quite dumbfounded at his utterance. _He's still thinking of the incident twelve years ago._

Seiichi and Haruka quietly looked at each other, while Zera blinked at his master. After silently weighing much thought about the pros and cons of having Neuro around, Haruka thought that the pros very much outweighed the cons as she whispered to her husband. Once they made up their mind, she nodded at Seiichi and faced Neuro with a smile.

"Neuro dear, Seiichi and I decided that, well, we don't really have anything to say about you bringing harm to any of us, so, as we decided, it would be nice to have you in our home for long periods of time, as late it is to say it—is this permanent?"

"Oh, no, ma'am," Neuro said with a wide beam, "only until our courses are finished. I promise I will take care of her—oh wait, I already am taking care of her. Seiichi-_san_, Haruka-_san_, please grant me permission to take care of your daughter once she gets to college." And he bowed, his lips set in a tight-lipped smile. "I want to marry her someday, if you will, and I'll do all my best to take care of her as long as she is with me," he added.

Yako almost wept in joy. Almost. And she saw those ethereal emerald eyes smiling at her warmly—she kissed him on the cheek, pouring all her unspoken love on that little peck.

Haruka nodded to her husband, smiling broadly still as she patted Seiichi's arm, "Well, there's no arguing there, son. You have grown to be so strong for our little girl, and I know you will bring her happiness and—" she sniffled, "—and love that would exceed our reach."

Yako laughed, "Mother, don't act like I'm already married! Geez."

And everyone laughed. Neuro, as soon as things settled down a bit, looked at Seiichi with a fanged smile, "And also, once our university days start, I cannot guarantee I could be able to spend more time with her; our studies will eat up our time. It's also one of the reasons why I wanted to stay in the house—so I could make up for the time loss the two of us might make in the future."

At this, a tear fell from Yako's wide eyes.

* * *

><p>Tonight, Neuro went home with Zera, and left Yako in her parent's care. Once the family of three—plus Miwako—have decided where Neuro should put his things for the next three years, Yako made it a suggestion that he should just room with her as he had always done. The rest of the household had no qualms in it, and they made little preparations, since Neuro already knew every nook and cranny in the house, thanks to his photographic memory.<p>

Once the next morning came, Neuro had greeted everyone at the Katsuragi household with his ever present smile, along with two large travelling bags and a backpack.

"That's all you have?" Yako asked when she observed him unpacking everything he owned right on her bedroom floor. She was sitting on her bed, trying to suppress a groan upon seeing her dresses get all bunched up all the way to the back of her closet no thanks to Neuro's clothes that were now hogging more than half of the space her closet originally had.

"Yup, this is all I have. Though, unpacking all of them will be a nuisance, so I only took out the things I need most of the time. Why?"

Yako shrugged as she swung her feet on the edge of her bed, "Just asking. I mean, you could always use the guest room—"

"And not have you there to warm me up every night? No thanks. I'll pass on that one. Besides, even if I were to get all my stuff in there, I would still be sneaking in your room at night when we go to sleep, just so I could have my bolster."

She sighed dejectedly, giving up on saying any kind of excuse just to get her closet space back, "Fine, fine. Just make sure I still have some space in there for my clothes."

As soon as she said it, he threw all of her clothes on her face, making sure the all the hangers hit her nose perfectly. "There, more space for you!" and he smiled blankly at her.

"Ugh... You asshole."

Humming could be heard from the doorway, and a smiling Haruka entered the room to check on her daughter and Neuro. Apparently, she didn't hear anything about the short banter of insults exchanged just a few seconds ago. "Yako? Why are all your clothes scattered all over the place?"

Neuro then initiated his innocent front, "Ah, Haruka-_san!_ Yako just told me moments ago that she would like to have her closet space be shared with me! So she took out all of her clothes and threw them everywhere... but I didn't really expect her to go this far. I think she is too excited to room in with me for a long period of time," he then put a thoughtful index finger to his now trembling lip, "Yako might be thinking of something risqué though, as she showed me her box of underwear hidden at the back of her closet—ah, Haruka-_san_, she's having strange fantasies of me...!"

Haruka gasped and gaped, her eyes now accusing Yako, who was furiously shaking her arms in front of her face.

"I-I didn't do anything, Mother...! Neuro, you—!"

Standing behind a shocked Haruka, Neuro smiled blankly at a pale-faced Yako.

* * *

><p>By noon, the minor scuffle in the Katsuragi residence halted. Yako had been thoroughly misunderstood by her parents, and Neuro had made up for it by swearing that he would "never do such a thing as touching her hair in an indecent way the way that Yako does."<p>

Once Yako had cleared up everything (saying that Neuro was only "joking"), she decided to have a private talk with Neuro, though she always considered talking to him as a serious matter—kind of.

A man chopping vegetables on a wooden chopping board was seen through the television in the living room. Yako, who was leaning on Neuro's side in a fetal position, blankly stared at the male chef that was now explaining his methods of cooking over the camera.

"Neuro," she started, rubbing her head on his arm as she softly spoke. She heard him hum, and she took a quick glance at him, noting the small smile and the warm green eyes that graced his features as he watched the TV—he's calm, she thought, and she clutched on to his dark blue button-down shirt. She rubbed her face on his sleeve, wrapping her thin arms around his bicep as she muffled her words on the fabric, "We might drift apart once April comes."

Neuro raised his eyebrow, and he shifted his eyes away from the TV screen and looked at the top of her head, "What are you talking about, mold brain." He felt her hold tightening around his arm, and she rubbed her face on his sleeve once more.

"We're going to different universities starting spring, Neuro," she said, her words still muffled by the fabric. "We would be dealing with a different crowd and a different atmosphere than what we have been used to for the past six years and—"

"Don't beat around the bush, worm." He saw her flinch just the slightest, and he was sure he heard a barely audible sniffle. He then looked at the foyer, and seeing that no one was standing near the hallways, he idly turned up the TV volume. He looked at Yako once again; her head was still buried on his sleeve, and he frowned. Fighting the urge to sigh, he removed his arm from her grasp and held her tight instead; even so, her face remained hidden by the fabric of his shirt. "What is going through that single-celled mind of yours, hm? Has your sense of thought gotten rusty?"

Again, he heard that little sniffle from her, and he could almost tell that she was struggling to find the words to say. She's running out of basic vocabulary words, he mused.

"...time."

Neuro blinked and quirked an eyebrow, "I didn't hear it. Speak clearly, dust mite."

Yako, this time, looked at Neuro with tears brimming from her glassy, honey-brown eyes.

His eye almost twitched. _Oh, dear_.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to spend time together once we go to different schools. Neuro will have his own course to deal with and I'll have mine to deal with and—"

Her words were silenced by a middle finger tapping on her lips. "And that is why I requested your parents to let me stay here for three years, stupid. So I could spend time with you if our schedules won't meet. We'll go to school together as always—we'll be waking up at five, the earliest. We'll be leaving at six fifteen, assuming we are doing our normal routine. I'll drop you off first at TUFS at six fifty—or maybe earlier since it will be rush hour—then I'll head on to Soudai after that. Sounds easy enough, we are in Shibuya, after all. Trains are helpful—though we would be packed like stinky sardines." His gaze then drifted off to a space on the wall, "Hm, I wonder if I should get a driver's license so things won't be much of a hassle. But then I would need to buy fuel for it... Also, if it takes 28 to 30 minutes to get from here to TUFS, and 15 to 18 minutes to get from here to Soudai, then... But then I would have to get another train to go from TUFS to Soudai during the rush hour, so that would mean—"

"Neuro," she pouted through the finger pressing on her lips, "I appreciate that you have all the time calculations planned out for us for the rest of the term, but I can't have you doing this to me all the time—"

He held her lips shut in between his thumb and forefinger, his mind cogs still reeling with calculations, "...the line on the ticket booths would be long and trains would be jam-packed by the time I drop you off, but I could always—"

Yako sighed and gave up. There was no use stopping him. Once he had his mind gears working, he would always focus on his plans more than anything else—and his plans usually involved Yako.

Or his constantly growing supply of reading material.

But it was usually Yako.

She smiled at the thought, pondering about his behavior. _Usually, girls would clamor for their boyfriend's attention, but here I have this man who lavishes me with such. And he spends his time with me and—_

Yako looked at Neuro's concentrated face, and he kept on mumbling to himself, his eyes now shifting from left to right rapidly, as if he was reading an invisible book.

"—then that would mean we have to wake up earlier than usual, no thanks to the crowd. Suppose we wake up at four fifty. The extra ten minutes would then serve as—"

Yako giggled. He was overthinking simple things as usual. So to keep him from overthinking those simple things, she detached her lips from his hold, and during times like these, she would always kiss him on the nose.

And his process of mumbling lowly to himself would abruptly halt, and his rapidly shifting eyes would stop and look blankly in space for a millisecond, and he would adorably blink thrice. Then he would look at her quizzically like a curious child.

He was doing it now, too. Blinking at her in a genuinely innocent way, that is.

Yako bit back her smile. _It never fails. And after that, he would always ask—_

"What was that for?" and he would always blink twice while asking her that. Yako, in turn, would always answer his question with a light-hearted giggle and a quick—

"I think Neuro looks better if he tries not to overthink the trivial little things. You look old with that thinking face on. Always with those knotted brows. You'll get wrinkles by the time we have our first child."

And Neuro, as Yako had always predicted, would then pinch her cheeks and tease her to no end.

"So the little mush of abominable DNA finally developed a sense of sight? She finally accepted her master as perfection personified!"

And he would laugh and kiss her forehead, then to her lips—a chaste kiss—as he had always done.

And Yako was perfectly content with their little routine.

Soon after, the cruel sands of time had passed slowly in between their young hands, and before they knew it, spring finally arrived, bringing in the promise of a new beginning, a new path—

—a new semester.

"N-Neuro! You're driving too fast!"

"I don't care. Isn't this fun? It's like riding on a roller coaster! Whee!"

"Gyah! Neuro, yellow light! Yellow light!"

"Bah. That wouldn't stop me. Watch."

"N-Neuro, you're going 180!"

"Hold on to your seat belt, kitty."

"Wh-what do you—_kyaaah!_"

Neuro cackled evilly as he drove madly, beating the red light in a blink of an eye while relishing the joy of hearing Yako scream her lungs out. Once he successfully made it to the corner on the other side of the street, he laughed.

"That was fun, kitty! If only I knew that driving Zera's van would be this great, I should have gotten a license earlier!"

Poor Yako quivered in her seat, holding back the tears that she might have shed if Neuro had sped up all the way to 220. She almost peed in her panties.

Apparently, Neuro had decided that riding trains everyday would someday take its toll on his thin patience, plus the idea of having to deal with a train filled with people never really fascinated him.

Besides, if they were to take a train everyday, then he would have to heighten his senses on the high possibility of gropers lurking the stations every _single_ damned day.

Like he'd let Yako be touched by another man. Neuro was too selfish for that—he never shared her. What was his remained his.

It was the true reason behind his taking of Zera's van—with much permission from the owner, of course. Though, he was sure that Zera was bawling when he drove the van out of the driveway. _Must be because of the trash can I bumped. Oh well_.

"We still have eleven minutes, kitty," he said, still grinning from his recent actions. Upon seeing a pale-faced Yako still gripping onto the handles even though he had already stopped, he chuckled. "Scared, kitten?"

"Of course, you ass! We could've died in the streets because of your recklessness!"

"But you liked it."

"Hell no!"

"Heh. So, your class today starts at seven thirty and it's... seven nineteen. And we're in Musashisakai now. We could still buy our lunches from that convenience store over there—"

"Really? Where!" and Yako excitedly looked around through the windows like a child, searching for the convenience store he mentioned. When she found which store he vaguely pointed out, she hurriedly removed her seat belt, got out of the van, went over to Neuro's seat and tugged on his arm. "Hurry! We're going to be late, dummy!"

"Heh. Just you. My class starts at eight."

Yako whined and tried to heave Neuro with all her strength by pulling on his arm, but the other just simply wouldn't cooperate. He just sat in the driver's seat with an amused smile as he watched Yako huff and puff her now reddish cheeks.

He chuckled, and from the recesses of his broad mind, a reminiscent tune of a melancholic harmonica distantly echoed within his ears as he looked at Yako's smile.

'_You are the memory of my youth', eh._

* * *

><p><strong>AAN:** Kozue, one of Tokyo's high-end restaurants that provides a breathtaking view of all of Tokyo from its glass windows, is located at Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku; it is a ten to fifteen-minute travel from Shibuya.

"_Hotaru no Hikari_" is the Japanese "_Auld Lang Syne_", and has been widely sung by graduate students in Japan. Though the lyrics from the Scottish song and the Japanese version are quite different, the tune remains the same. In the graduation ceremony scene, it served as the instrumental background instead of the traditional "_Graduation March_".

"_Sotsugyou Sashin_" or "Graduation Photo" is a song originally sung by _Yumi Matsutoya_. It was released in 1975 and has then been covered by other artists for several times. In this chapter, I chose _IkimonoGakari_'s version in this one because, well, their version made me cry like a two-year-old everytime I listen to it. I blame the beautiful arrangement of harmonica. I've had the song on loop mode the _whole_ time I was writing this chapter, by the way. So yes, my eyes look like they have been bitten by ants. Now review and leave this poor author alone in a corner to weep for her distant nostalgic years.

Also, this chapter was supposed to be longer, actually. But then I realized that according to the chapter title ("Third Month"), this one should emphasize the passage of time during their high school days, hence, why I cut it short.

In other words, Chapter 25 is already on the third page as of this writing. :D


	25. Floreo

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Five: Floreo <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I'm having that sinking feeling you get when the fanfic you have stopped updating for a year (and had just updated recently for the heck of it) gets more reviews than the fanfic you keep on updating every month. I'm thinking of going back to my original fandom if this keeps up... *aimlessly flutters away in the wind*

Also to IlikeNoms, since you kindly asked for my complete playlist for this fic, I'll gladly put it up on my profile. :3 (There're lots of songs, you see. *blink*)

* * *

><p>People of different races walked down the grounds of Toukyou Gaikokugo, one of the most prestigious universities in Japan that specialized in foreign studies. Japanese and foreigners alike walked down the campus. Americans, and mostly those who were new in the school (or newly living in Japan themselves), talked amongst other students, professors and staff on which class they will be in. Some of the foreigners were quite tall and had ashen to blond hair, and seeing tall men with such blond hair vaguely reminded her of her fiancé.<p>

Yako was on her phone as she observed the grounds with much interest. The pavilions were much bigger than she expected, and the some of the buildings overwhelmed her at first. They were too huge, and most of them were built with tempered glass of various sizes, so passersby could see clearly what was on the inside of each building.

Yako was smiling as she passed by one of her professors from her earlier class, bowing politely as she walked. Once she passed him by, she talked on her phone once again.

"—and then I almost missed my first class because of the food we bought. Tee hee!"

"_Yako, you can't have that anymore. We're college students now. Co-ll-e-ge! We're treading a different path! And I am not there with you to guide you through your insane diet! Same goes for Nougami-san! So please, Yako. Do yourself a favor and curb your binge eating._"

"Geez, okay, sorry, Kanae-_chan_. But really, I'm not binge eating. I can absolutely control myself when it comes to food and—ohmigosh. Kanae, gotta go now. I finally found the campus cafeteria, and they're selling melon bread!"

"_Hey, what happened to you saying you can control yourse—_"

Yako hung up her phone and made her way to the entrance doors excitedly, taking in the sights and smells Toudai cafeteria has to offer. _Food!_

* * *

><p>Dinner at the Katsuragi house seemed livelier than usual, as Yako kept on talking about her experience in her first day college.<p>

"And then they have this massive lecture room—not a room, really. It's a massive building. And they have this library filled with books on different languages from all over the world and—"

Neuro chewed on his ham as he spoke, "Hm. Can I go there when I don't have any classes? Borrow books, perhaps?"

Yako shook her head, "They don't allow visitors to lend their books. But they do accept visitors who would photocopy their materials within the academy. Also, it's fine if you would just read them there. You just have to present some identification, I think."

Neuro shrugged, "Fine with me. I'd just scan through all the pages in all those books while waiting for you. Easy enough."

"But what about your classes, Neuro? You might still have a class in the afternoon, maybe?" asked Haruka.

"Ah, I'm fine, Haruka-_san_. I chose my own schedule according to the hours when Yako and I could meet up. I'm free on Friday at noon onwards. I only have four classes in the morning every Friday, you see. I start at seven thirty and finish at noon—they're all majors."

Seiichi drank his cup of green tea and cleared his throat, "You're willing to wait for Yako after that? Her classes every Friday starts at seven and ends at three."

"I have six classes every Friday. It sucks," and Yako pouted at her plate of spaghetti. "By the way, you haven't told me anything about your first day in Soudai. So, how was it? Found anything interesting?"

"The reason why you got the awful schedule every Friday was because the slot you were supposed to pick was already full. I told you to get your enlistment done two weeks before March ended. Did you listen? _No_. So now you are going to suffer for the whole term no thanks to your laziness. And as for your question earlier, yes, I did found something interesting. There was this professor in Economics class that miscalculated a part of his lesson and so I—"

Yako cut him off with a deadpanned retort, "Let me guess. You corrected him in your own way."

And Neuro smiled at her broadly with his sparkly green eyes of adorable doom, "Bingo! How did you know? Hm. That professor did something unexpected, though. He tried to talk back at me (not many teachers did that to me before), so I did the next best thing I could think of. I—"

"Approached him and whispered something to the poor guy's ear that would most probably result in him taking the largest dump in his underwear for the rest of the term every time he would see you in his class. Or in the corridors," Yako said apathetically.

Neuro blankly smiled at her, "Heh."

Haruka and Seiichi looked at each other quizzically, not quite following what their daughter was talking about.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week flew by quickly, and by Saturday, Yako found herself alone with Neuro. Again.<p>

"Mother and Father are away on work again. They'll be back by next Monday," Yako said, reading on the little sticky note on the fridge.

"Why is Sonobe-_san_ always with your mother again?"

"Because everything my mother touches turns into an inedible mess and she needs Sonobe-_san_ to fix things up, remember? Being a freelance writer sometimes has its downside."

Neuro drank down a can of iced coffee from the fridge and hummed, "Well, at least we have some time alone. We need a bath to relax." As though for emphasis, he popped open the first three buttons of his shirt. Yako sighed as he crushed the can in his hand and threw it in the trash bin, and he jogged up the stairs, hollering for her to hurry up.

Once he had everything prepared, Neuro stripped down to nothing and immersed himself in the tub of warm water, laying his arms lazily on the rims as he waited for Yako to come up. He left the bathroom door wide open—not like anyone other than her would enter, anyway.

When Yako entered the bathroom, the first thing she saw was the tub filled with bubbles covering Neuro.

"You used up all of my strawberry bubble bath soap, didn't you."

Neuro looked at her with his usual superior air, and those lips curled in his attractive, lopsided smile. "I couldn't find anything labeled with Irish spring on it, so I used your bubble bath soap instead. Works well, I must say. It's like I'm being bathed in your scent."

"Geh. Hearing you say that gives me goose bumps. It's creepy."

Neuro laughed, and he watched her lock the door and start to undress. "You could have waited for me to take a shower, at least. Sheesh, you want me to go in there with dirt all over me," he heard her say. Neuro grinned.

"I could wash your back while you're in here. That's what the bubbles are for."

Yako giggled and stepped in the tub, "Can I turn on the shower for a minute? It won't take long. I just need a quick rinse."

"And your filth will then be sliding in the bath I put so much effort in arranging," he retorted, silently admiring the view from where he was leaning. "Though, I don't really see the bad thing in seeing you do it. Go on, turn on the shower."

"Eeh—from that look alone, I can tell you're enjoying yourself from there. Having pervy thoughts, Mister Possessive?" and she gave him a knowing grin as she turned her back on him and turned on the shower to its warmest setting.

Neuro opted not to reply. Instead, he merely stretched out his legs wider and inclined his head more comfortably in the quite spacious tub, giving Yako more room around her feet.

His half-lidded emerald eyes hungrily took in her form that was now being gradually doused in water. Staring at her soaked hair, to her nape, to her slender shoulders, to her arms, to the curve of her shapely back, to her slim waist, to her comely hips, to her pleasingly plump buttocks, all the way to her nice thighs and legs—his eyes devoured it all. Every tiny detail of her body, every miniscule flaw and mark her skin had (like the tiny mole under her left butt cheek), he memorized and stored them all in his vast mind.

Oh, and he seemed to be very pleased at how she always kept herself perfectly shaved in one particular area.

And he could already map it out in his hindsight. When she moved, her bottom would bob just the slightest, and it would give him a perfect view of her tiny, little pink pearl. He licked his lips.

_She's so tiny._

She shifted just the slightest, and her bottom shook lightly just as he predicted. He gulped, and before he could stop himself, Neuro was already on his knees, holding Yako's hipbones and giving desperate, open-mouthed kisses on the small of her back. He felt her jerk and she let out a small yelp, but she made no move to get away from him—

—not like that would stop him, anyway.

Yako calmed down and sighed, and let him have his way. Her knees suddenly felt like melting in his touch—the low growls she kept on hearing from him made her weak.

She heard him whisper her name, and his breath tickled her skin. She suppressed a gasp as his arms hugged her thighs and nibbled on her bottom. A dart of a tongue licked the curve of her supple flesh, and his just-trimmed nails raked on her inner thighs, leaving red streaks in their wake. Her head tilted back at the delicious act, letting the stream of water wet her now heated and flushed skin.

Once she had turned off the shower, she detached herself from him, and looked at those charming ethereal green eyes—from where she was standing, he seemed to look like a submissive partner. The thought made her laugh.

Neuro ignored her odd reaction, and hugged her knees once more, kissing her stomach this time, closing his eyes as he did so.

She slowly slid her body into the tub of bubbles and water; all the while, Neuro's lips remained on her dewy skin. She kissed him on the forehead, her hands touching his flushed face, and soon, she found herself being slowly kissed by him. A new pacing for Yako—his kisses were different than usual.

When he pulled away from her moist lips, his warm green eyes looked at her, those expressive orbs swirled in mischief as he whispered to her, "We'll take it slow for the rest of the night. I think a change of pace is good every now and then, don't you think?"

Yako could only absently nod at his words, her thoughts swirling at what he was really thinking.

Damp eyelashes closed as his deft hands kneaded her fleshy buttocks and trailed kisses down her neck, just how she liked it. Her shaky hands knotted in his wet hair, keeping his lips firmly placed upon her jugular as she aimlessly rubbed her hips towards his naked crotch.

A strangled gasp escaped her moist lips as she felt his hardness prodding on her stomach—she pulled away from him, pushed Neuro to his side of the tub, and mashed her lips to his. Hands roamed wherever they could, both wanting to feel more of that heated sensation burning within them—both moaning in their hungry kisses. Yako rolled her hips on his obvious stiffness in a very agile manner, and Neuro, for once, didn't make a move to stop her brash act. In fact, he reciprocated her unspoken invitation, as he slowly bucked his hips to hers. The water and bubbles sloshed around them as they performed their private little dance. He slid his member along her tiny and wet slit, teasing her with a knowing smirk as he licked her ear.

Neuro wouldn't penetrate her. Not now. Not until they were husband and wife—that's what he promised her a long time ago. Yet even so, he kept on dangling the tempting forbidden fruit in front of Yako's greedy eyes. Those eyes that have always been needy for his amorous touch and—

—oh.

Yako was silent now, save for the breathless gasps and occasional hisses her sinful mouth made as she tilted her head back, her lips shaped in a little circle as she panted out Neuro's name. Her right hand clutched itself loosely on her damp and currently wild-looking locks as her nether regions traced the outline of his manhood.

Her hips lazily swayed over his as Neuro eyed her with much amusement. Her honey-brown eyes were now glazed over as her tender and teasing flesh caressed his hard and erect one. Seeing that Yako was too absorbed in blindly feeling his erection, Neuro took it as a chance to hardly pinch her teats, and Yako's back arched as she cried out and held onto his hands, placing them on her breasts firmly as she eyed him with her bedroom eyes.

"More," she simply said. And Neuro looked at his own hands that were stuck in between her hands and her soft breasts. He felt something twitching in between his legs, and he willed the feeling to ebb for now.

Control—he had always been very good at it.

His large hands softly squeezed her tender globes of flesh, and seeing Yako closing her eyes and looking quite pleased, he did it again, experimenting with the various amounts of pressure his fingers could put on her lovely mounds.

All the while, her slow hip-rolling never ceased. As she guided Neuro's hands on how to apply firm pressure on her breasts just the way she wanted it, she kept on teasing the tip of Neuro's member with her vulva. Her heart raced from what they were doing—and _that_ thing that had been teasing her. It was so close yet so far...!

She grunted and removed his hands from her chest, and she stood on her knees and promptly smothered Neuro's face with her bosom—

—just how he _loved_ it.

She could hear him muffling incoherent sounds, and when he gasped for a lungful of air, she saw his green eyes becoming much darker than earlier as he ceaselessly flicked his tongue on her attention-seeking teat. He had been drooling as he was playing with her breasts—

Yako shivered in delight. The power she held over him was _divine._

His hands then reached out to her butt cheeks, squeezing them roughly, and even before Yako said it, he was already spanking her hard.

The water was starting to get lukewarm, but neither of them cared. Neuro quickly held Yako and shifted her position, so her back was now pressed flush against his torso, and he deftly grabbed her breasts and squished them in his fingers, making sure he was pinching her quite small and erect nipples from time to time.

She craned her neck and kissed him softly.

Their playtime had always been rough, though this time, Neuro was willing to tug and pull the borderline between rough and slow.

Not long after, he took her out of the tub and placed her in front of the foggy mirror, and used his arm to swipe away the fog blocking his vision of Yako.

"Look at you. Look at us."

She did just as so, and she was slightly surprised by their flushed and disheveled appearance. Neuro's face held a faint pinkish tinge, and his hair looked like he just woke up. Those half-lidded eyes of his seemed carnal, and his long and damp lashes graced her blushing cheeks with butterfly kisses trailing down to her collarbone.

His arms were wrapped around her waist and shoulders tightly, just in case she might feel faint. Yako could make out the stray droplets of water dripping down their cooling bodies.

"Don't close your eyes," she heard him whisper, and she watched as Neuro dip his head in the juncture between her shoulder and neck, sucking on it audibly.

She bit her lip at the sight of how wanton her face looked like right now, and how Neuro looked so damned hot—

Neuro's fingers slid down her slick body as he knelt behind her. "Just look at the mirror and _don't_ close your eyes," he commanded. And without warning, he languidly licked her dripping entrance.

Yako looked at her reflection on the mirror, and saw her glassy eyes widened as he sucked on her.

* * *

><p>Once they have finished with their hour and a half bath time, Neuro literally dragged a still fully naked (and completely submissive) Yako to her bed—a usual occurrence between them.<p>

"You're quiet tonight, kitten. That's unusual," he muttered as he locked the door.

"I'm thinking of what you're going to do to me. I like what you did to me earlier. The part where you licked me down there again," said Yako coyly with her eyes directed at his clothed and obvious stiffness. She made no effort to make herself look a bit presentable on her own bed. Her feet were dangling off the bed, her hair was still in a damp mess from the bath earlier, not to mention she was still stark naked, her body completely exposed for Neuro to see.

She was being closely observed by a pair of startling green eyes.

"We're all alone in this house, kitty. And we have all the time we want."

Yako watched as he crawled all over her on all fours, his feral eyes never leaving hers.

They stared at each other for a moment, and he softly kissed her lips once, twice, thrice, until she reciprocated with fervor. Seeing Neuro's gentle side had never been felt by her when it came to their nocturnal rituals, but—

"Yako, I think you like being kissed slowly—see? I can feel you getting soaked already. Much wetter than the usual. You like being rubbed, right? How about a slower rub?"

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, her eyes still closed and her neck exposed to his soft bites.

"You seem to be fretting over the fact that there's not enough time for us to spend now that we're in different schools, right? Let's just," he held her tight, and she returned the gesture with a few scratches on his back, "take our time whenever we can, making sure our intimacy never goes away. What do you think?" And he gave her a hickey on her right shoulder.

She let out a breathless gasp as he licked and nibbled on her earlobe, entwining her legs around his waist as he ground his clothed crotch to her naked one.

Her back arched towards him as she fervently sucked on his ever skillful tongue. Mirroring her actions, he sucked on her tongue and lower lip, cupping her breast as he did so.

"A long night it's going to be, Yako," Neuro whispered haughtily to her ear, and he purposefully nudged his stiffness to the curve of her slender stomach.

Her toes curled and her teeth bit on her swollen lips—feeling that clothed temptation alone was enough to make her come.

_He knows how to drive me crazy._

* * *

><p>At four o'clock in the morning, Neuro's phone beeped, and being the light sleeper that he was, he groaned and blindly searched for his phone that was on top of Yako's dresser. He squinted at the sudden white light blinding his sleepy eyes, and when he checked who it was, he shrugged it off and put his phone back on the dresser.<p>

"One new mail from Miyasako", the screen read.

* * *

><p>Morning light filled Yako's room, rudely waking up Neuro in the process. He groaned and turned over to Yako's side, burying his face behind her locks as he held her, and he gruffly woke her up with muffled words. She grumbled on her pillow as she bunched up the blankets over her naked body, refusing to face him as she was still sleepy, "Neuro, it's Sunday... Let me sleep in, at least..." And she slumbered once more.<p>

Neuro sighed and pondered if he should get up and eat breakfast, or just stay in bed with her. Looking at Yako's naked form that was loosely draped in blankets—well—

—he decided to just stay in bed as well. Those tempting legs of hers might be getting cold from being exposed, anyway.

His phone then blared that familiar loud ring, signaling that someone was near the house.

The sleep suddenly left his body as he cursed and tried to ignore that damned noise—

—and realization dawned on him as he remembered why his phone was blaring like that.

Suddenly sitting up and getting his Swiss knife from the bottom of Yako's drawer, he got up and looked at the screen on his phone and groaned.

"Front door. _Again_. Can't they think of entering anywhere else?"

He put on his discarded button-down shirt and a pair of jeans at the foot of the bed as he took his noisy phone and headed for the door. With one last look at Yako, still unbelievably sleeping like a log after all that noise, he sighed and locked the door on his way out.

Rushing down the stairs with his bare feet, and wincing as his feet met cold tiles on near the front door, he looked at his phone one more time and shut it off, his Swiss knife clenched tightly in his hand as he opened the door slowly.

"Yo, Nougami! Long time no see! Can we come in?"

Hayasaka Hisanori. Should have known.

Neuro muttered something under his breath and rubbed his eye. Still hidden behind the door, he quietly sheathed his Swiss knife and put it in his pocket. "What are you doing here so early?" he asked, his voice still gruff, and he opened the door wider, only to see Mutsuki, Kanae and Shinobu greeting him with smiles—

—only, Kanae's greeting turned to screams as she glimpsed at Neuro's lean and decently toned half-naked body that was covered in long, reddish pink scratches.

She hurriedly turned her back and hid her face in her hands, bowing and apologizing to no end. Neuro, merely blinking at her reaction, looked down at the numerous red streaks on his own torso, and he shrugged nonchalantly as he simply buttoned his shirt and zipped up his jeans. Good thing he slept with his boxers on.

"K-Katsuragi did all of that... again?" Yukinori asked, his eyes wide and his finger pointed at Neuro's apathetic face.

Neuro smiled and yawned as he simply let them in, uttering a vague response of "She could be a wild tigress if you push her buttons hard enough" as he guided them to the living room.

"I'll let Yako know you're all here," he deadpanned, and the pattering of footsteps could be heard as Neuro went up the stairs.

"Those two really are insatiable. That lucky bastard... Did you see those love bites and bruises on his neck?" Yukinori whispered to a still wide-eyed Shinobu, "I bet even his back is riddled with even more scratches from her nails."

Shinobu could only dumbly nod, still speechless. The little teen smiled at Yukinori, "At least _nee-chan_ is satisfied with Neuro-_nii_'s ways."

Kanae gasped, her mind still reeling with the image of a (deliciously, drool-worthy) half-naked and sleepy-eyed Neuro. "M-Mucchan! Don't say such things!"

In Yako's room, the girl remained sleeping soundly still, and as much as Neuro wanted to lie in bed all day and look at her tempting body, he had no choice but to wake her up—

—in his own way, of course.

Yako didn't know what was all over her face when she was woken up by a happy-looking Neuro. She then wordlessly got up and dressed up as decently as she could. Once she thought everything looked fine, she kissed Neuro on the cheek as her morning greeting and went downstairs to greet everyone, leaving Neuro sitting on the bed, blankly smiling as he now toyed with the permanent sharpie in his left hand.

"Good thing the stupid slug didn't even look at the mirror."

Following Yako downstairs still with his blank smile on, he muffled his laugh as he heard Yako's wails and the laughter of the others.

"Something the matter, piggy?" he asked, his blank smile still on his face as he watched Yako angrily pointing a shaking finger at him.

"What did you do to my face, you asshole!"

"It says 'Hippo-Piggy' on your forehead. So people will know what you really are!" and Neuro put on his faux innocent face.

From the couch, Yukinori guffawed while Kanae tried not to laugh.

* * *

><p>Pictures were laid out on Yako's bed, and she smiled upon looking at them—each shot was taken in various parts of their high school. Earlier, Yukinori had given her and Neuro their personal copies of their high school pictures. It was one of the reasons that Neuro had received a message from Mutsuki this morning—to notify him that they were coming to the Katsuragi residence.<p>

Apparently, the younger Hayasaka had a complete collection of every student in school, along with every event since they started senior high. Being the younger brother of the school's principal really had its perks.

She giggled as she took out one picture from the pile to her left, "Neuro, look! This is us during the Sports Festival!"

Neuro came over to where Yako was, and he smiled upon seeing himself in the picture. It was taken on the first day of the Sports Festival in their junior year, and Neuro, donned in their PE uniform, was heaving Yako on his shoulders—both of them were preparing for the _kibasen_, and Mutsuki had taken the shot.

"How about this one? The one where we had whipped cream on our faces?"

And Yako laughed as she took the picture from Neuro's hand. That shot was taken in their Home Economics class, and their assignment was to bake a Black Forest cake. And it had been a messy one.

Yako looked at another picture, and she giggled, "Hey, this was on Valentine's Day when we jumped off the window! How did anyone get a hold of this?" In the shot, Neuro and Yako were seen hugging as they jumped off to the trampoline below.

Neuro chuckled, "I think the little shrimp took that one. She was the one who took the first jump, remember?"

Yako blinked and looked at the picture thoughtfully, "You think? But Yukinori-_san_ was also there below and—oh wow. This one was taken on the day after we saw the results of our uni exams! You did nothing but to hug me the whole day that time!"

"That's because I was feeling proud of you that day. To think that a lowly and squishy bug such as you would get to pass the exams from a revered school like Tokyo Uni—that was just pure joy!"

"You didn't have to mask your compliments with insulting me like I'm an insignificant bug."

"Heh."

Yako pouted still, a bit miffed at being called a bug (again), though he made it up by kissing her on the forehead.

She then glanced at an isolated little envelope that was placed at the bottom of the other pile of pictures from her right. On the white envelope was a note, handwritten by Mutsuki. "'For _nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_', it says," Yako looked questioningly at Neuro, and he shrugged.

"Open it, then."

She did just as so, and a picture, lying faced down, slid out to her palm. Another note was neatly written on the top right-hand corner, '_Through the language of flowers, you will know what he means._'

Yako turned it over, and a smile instantly bloomed on her face.

In the picture was a cherry blossom tree in full bloom, and beneath it was a smiling Neuro, standing in front of an equally smiling Yako, both of who were facing away from the camera. In her hands was a large bouquet of various flowers tied with a red ribbon, and knotted near the edge of that ribbon was an intricate-looking ring that Yako was quite familiar with.

"This was taken on the day you proposed to me... on White Day two years ago," and Yako couldn't contain her joy as she then kissed Neuro on his cheek.

"I see she had been spying on us that day," Neuro mumbled, his grin mimicking the one that he had in the picture.

"'_Hanakotoba'_, Mutsuki-_tan_ said in the note—did she mean the flowers you gave me that day?"

He shrugged, his grin still in place as he looked at her with pride, "Maybe."

Yako puffed her cheeks at him, "You know something that I don't, do you. I can see it in that smarmy smile of yours."

He showed her his fanged smile. She showed him a lopsided smirk.

"The language of flowers could be interpreted in different ways depending on which country you are in, right?"

Neuro merely raised his eyebrows at her, his expression still amused at where their conversation was going. Yako continued talking.

"Since we are in Japan, might as well think of what these flowers mean in Japanese and—don't laugh, dummy! I'm going to figure out what you meant to say that day. You never told me what those flowers mean," and she pouted at him as she made her way over to her laptop and turned it on.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding what all these flowers mean."

And Neuro grinned widely, "Good luck finding their meaning."

* * *

><p>Yako spent all morning browsing the net for the meaning of each flower in the bouquet she held in the picture. Neuro had never once told her what they meant, he refused to tell it, and Yako later on forgot about it. She had never been much of a fan about the flower language.<p>

_But Mutsuki-tan said in her note that I'll find what Neuro means judging from the flowers_.

She glanced at the clock at the bottom of her screen—it was nearing noon. She glanced at Neuro, and he was now reading a book—with that calm smile on his face.

"Found their meanings yet?" he asked, his lips quirking into that familiar little grin as he turned a page of his book.

Yako squinted at him, her lips still jutted in a minute pout, "I still have three more to go."

Neuro smiled, and he looked at her, "Be sure not to overfry your lonely brain cell, worm."

"Hmph," and she turned her back on him, puffing her cheeks as she wrote another flower's name that was included in the bouquet. "Let's see... carnation..."

Upon hearing her mumbling that flower's name, Neuro looked at her with fondness reflecting through his onyx-jade eyes.

* * *

><p>It was nearing two in the afternoon when Yako finished her research, and she was fascinated at what she found.<p>

Looking back at her bed, Neuro was on his back, fast asleep—taking a quick nap, perhaps—and Yako smiled at she looked at the scribbles and notes she had written on a piece of paper.

She bit her lip, silently debating whether to wake him up or not. Tapping her foot twice, she sighed and stood up and made her way back to the still sleeping Neuro, admiring the way his long lashes kissed his face. She smiled, and placed a kiss upon his forehead. She put her little notepad on the bed, and she laid down with him, smiling as she draped her arm over him. And just as Yako expected, Neuro stirred and groaned out her name, smiling as his striking green eyes opened.

Yako beamed and gave him an Eskimo kiss.

"What was that for?" His voice sounded a bit gruff as he gave her a little smile and a kiss on her forehead.

"For awkwardly and secretly telling me you love me," she said with a coy smile, "I finally found out what you wanted to say to me that day."

Neuro's lips curled in a little smirk, his eyebrow arched at her with much amusement as he idly tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear, "Hmm—well, let's hear it. Tell me what I wanted to say to you that day."

A tinge of pink graced Yako's cheeks as Neuro's hand rested lightly on the side of her head. She cleared her throat and took the note lying beside her, those honey-brown eyes of hers running over the neat scrawls on the parchment one last time before glancing at Neuro's still beguiled expression—and she quickly sat upright, with her feet serving as her temporary cushion as she read aloud while inwardly covering her face in embarrassment.

"First. The bouquet was given to me, arranged in a specific manner—and this—this manner reflects the way our lives became interwoven since _that_ day."

Neuro nodded, smiling and silently urging her to continue.

"Second... The flowers were arranged—based on the feelings we felt when we first met."

A tight-lipped smile graced Neuro's features, and he barely nodded as he eyed her with what she could only assume as—

"Hydrangea, the symbol of pride—it was how I viewed you on the first day that we met. Always making fun of me and biting my forehead and bending my fingers." As Yako spoke, her cheeks were becoming puffier as she was close to pouting from remembering their early days of being together.

Batting his long lashes as he looked at the expression on his little kitten's face, his amused smile remained in place.

"White camellia—'waiting', it means. You have," she paused and took a deep breath, and she felt her blood rushing to her cheeks as she spoke, "you have always waited for me during those early days. Every day after school, beneath the large wisteria tree near the school gates, you would always wait for me to finish with my cleaning duty, and you would always offer yourself to walk me home, even though I gave no thought on where you lived that time, or if I was being a bother if you had plans." Yako looked away from him, feeling guilty for her past thoughtless actions.

Neuro huffed, eyeing her with mirth, "Damn right you were thoughtless. Just shows how much of a worm-brain you are," and he blankly smiled at her.

Yako harrumphed and she glanced at the next flower on the list, ignoring his thorny insult. "White anemone, the symbol of sincerity—um, I—don't really want to say this (so embarrassing)."

Neuro barked a laugh, a pair of crow's feet crinkling the edges of his eyes. And he cleared his throat and sat up straight, mimicking Yako's sitting position, "Let me say it for the sake of your spinelessness, then. You're too embarrassed to admit it, that _I_—your sole and impossibly generous master, your sole and peerless hot-blooded lover, and your ridiculously handsome, extremely intelligent and your wholeheartedly dedicated husband-to-be—am completely and zealously _sincere_ in all the times that I walked you home since we were seven."

As Neuro was speaking, a full-blown laugh erupted from Yako, her cheeks hurting so much from laughter. A mirth-filled tear fell from her eye, "Wh-what's with all those ridiculously unnecessary superlatives!" And she tried to say something more, but her soundless laughter kept her from saying anything else even as Neuro inched closer to her face, mirroring her wide smile with his own fanged one. He laughed as he kissed her pinkish and numbing cheek, and the sound of their combined laughter bounced off the walls as Neuro hugged her, both of them still laughing until they fell back on the bed as the wind was inevitably knocked out of their heaving lungs.

"Y-you need a pair of glasses for saying such things, haha—"

And Neuro rolled over her and straddled her still laughing form—and he tickled her senseless.

Yako tried to let out the word 'stop', though she had only gotten to the first syllable before Neuro's fingers of doom attacked her aching stomach.

He stopped slowly once he knew Yako was completely out of breath, and beads of sweat and tears started to appear on her reddened face, her wide, goofy grin still in place as she grasped his hands to keep him from tickling her further.

After a few more minutes of chuckling, Neuro gave in and heaved his weight on Yako, the latter sighing contentedly as he did so.

"So... yeah. As I was saying—" and minute giggles flowed from her lips as Neuro idly toyed with her now mussed up hair with quiet interest. Neuro hummed, that wide grin he had a few minutes back now returning to its previously calm smile, and she returned the favor by idly fiddling with his black fringe, and she closed her eyes when he kissed her lips chastely.

"Let me fill up the details of the flowers I chose for the slow little sow, 'mkay?" and he cooed as he mumbled to her ear. "The daisy symbolizes faith—faith that I could still see you after those worthless scumbags tried to take you away from me."

Yako clamped her lips, feeling a bit flustered. "Um, next is peony, the symbol of bravery, though I fail to see why you chose it—"

"It's because you were brave to fight those full-grown men with only your teeth and feet."

"You taught me how to fight, dummy."

Neuro laughed, "Of course I did. Now, next is an aster tataricus—a symbol of remembrance. I think you know very well why I chose that."

She wrapped her arms around his nape, smiling sadly, "That incident changed everything between us. You—purposely forced yourself into my life just to make sure that I will be safe and..."

"'And'?"

A shy smile and a mumbled garble of words were heard.

"I didn't hear it, moldy."

Yako sighed and spoke louder, "Which brings me to the next flower—the daffodil, for respect."

He smiled, and he placed his forehead on hers, closing his eyes as he slowly rubbed his thumb on her cheek, "I hold a high level of respect for you, believe it or not. It's because of you that I experienced things I wouldn't have done if you didn't bump into me when we met. It's also one of the reasons why the last four were entwined at the branches. Zinnia for loyalty. Azalea for patience."

The tips of their noses touched, Yako's voice a bare whisper, "A white carnation for marriage engagement."

Neuro's lips hovered above hers, his hand winding its way to the back of her head, "And a forget-me-not for true love."

And a tear fell from Yako's eye as he kissed her chastely, and she broke the kiss with a silent sigh. "Eleven flowers—eleven flowers representing the feelings you felt and..."

He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering there as he whispered, "Eleven flowers representing the day of the incident that changed us."

She clutched onto his back, holding him tight as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, "The eleventh of May, was it...?" Another tear followed, and another, until tears filled her vision as she shook uncontrollably in his tight hold, distant yet clear memories resurfaced in her mind's eye as she spoke, "Y-you were completely shaken that day and you refused to let go of me even if we went to the police station that day to report what happened and—and you even bit the arm of the officer that tried to pry me away from you." A choked laugh escaped from her lips upon recalling that specific moment, "And after that, I apologized for the officers—and they later on accompanied us home. Well, they, plus you, accompanied me home, to be precise. Only Sonobe-_san_ and Mother were home that day. I remember you distancing away from me when I stood on the porch, refusing to acknowledge yourself as always since you first walked me home. You simply stood near the officer that you bit—and when the door opened and I turned around to introduce you to my mother, you were already gone."

Neuro merely held her tightly still and smiled sadly as she openly recalled the events of that day. He considered it his worst day ever—and also his best.

He heard her sniffle once more, and he idly patted her head as she spoke, "The day after the incident, you refused to leave me alone—even when I go to the toilet, you'd just stand near the entrance, and you would yell and panic if I didn't reach your one-minute-limit. Always thinking that something will happen to me... It became your worst fear. And since the first day that you entered this house, you vowed to me that you will always sleep next to me like a loyal husband would to his wife—I... I didn't understand it that time, thinking that you were only joking. But as time wore on, the times you stayed over became more frequent, and it finally became the most normal thing we would do together. I didn't give much thought into it until we turned 12—we were having dinner with my parents that time. Father was covering Mother's eyes with his hands just as Sonobe-_san_ laid out a huge cake in front of her."

Neuro hummed, his smile growing a tad wider at the memory.

"It was their wedding anniversary. And I remember your expression that night—a completely clueless expression was written all over your face even when Mother and Father explained it to you slowly. Did you remember the exact words you said that night?"

"'Why is it that Haruka-_san_ and Seiichi-_san_ celebrate such a thing every year? Is that the best thing in the world?' I said."

Yako nodded, and a few more tears slipped from her eyes as she stared at the ceiling, "Yes—you asked that question that sounded _so_ strange from my perspective. And I remember pointing my finger at you and commanding you to kneel and apologize for being rude to my parents. And then... you said the words that made my heart clench every time I hear them in my head—"

"'I've never seen my parents hug each other or kiss each other when one of them goes out. I don't recall any day they celebrate this weird occasion at all—though from the movies I've seen before, couples celebrate it' was what I said."

"...That time, I realized how much loneliness you had been through in your own house. Not knowing what a parents' anniversary means. Not even knowing what a hug should really feel like because you said that you were never hugged by your own parents. So I did what I thought I had to do."

Neuro chuckled, and he rolled over and faced her with that same wide smile, "You taught me how to hug."

Yako giggled as she looked at him, wiping another tear from her eye, "I did it awkwardly, too. I remember the first time I taught you how to hug—"

"You looked like a bumpy and bruised strawberry."

Yako puffed her cheeks, "Hmph. Anyway. The first thing I did was to demonstrate it to you in my room for privacy's sake—"

"And I felt your barren chest."

"Shut up. Don't look at me with that blank smile while I'm trying to recall things here. Anyway. I was just standing there with my arms around you, and you were standing in front of me like a stiff twig. When I told you to hug me back, you said you couldn't because your arms were trapped."

"And you looked like a red pepper when you released my poor arms and you repeated the process."

"And you were doing it awkwardly at first, too—your arms were too loose and you were hovering your hands on my back. When I told you that you were doing it wrong, you asked me how I could do such a thing. And then I said, 'Think of what you felt that day when you saw me in that large plastic bag' and you suddenly had this… shocked, petrified look on your face that I thought I pushed you too far by mentioning that and—you did the thing I least expected you to do."

Silence reigned in the room, the hum of the laptop served as their background noise.

"You suddenly hugged me tight. A bit _too_ tight—so tight that I thought you were trying to crunch my bones. And I felt you shaking. That was the night I told you that that is how you should feel when hugging someone important to you."

"And it became my habit around you since then."

She laughed, "And I remember a week after that hugging lesson, you read a book about human behavior and told me that—"

"'I should hug you more because it says here that hugging brings many benefits to a person.'"

"And since then you hugged me more frequently, from once a week to twice every three days to once every day. They were quick hugs back then. Then it became twice every day, then it became thrice, until you grew accustomed to hugging me so much that it became your everyday habit—trying to surprise me every time you pop up behind me and give me your daily dose of quick hugs. Then you tried giving me longer hugs daily, even in our sleep. At one point you told me that you hated going home to your own house because I wasn't there. Hearing that made me happy for some reason and—and I guess that... was the time that I started to have feelings for you."

Neuro smiled and inched closer to her as he laid his leg over hers and he held her tight, "So it was all thanks to that awkward hugging night that I came to be what I am now."

"I guess. It was worth it, huh? You told me you once read that hugs save lives. Does that mean we've saved each other's lives many times since we awkwardly hugged that night?"

He shrugged and closed his eyes, smiling as he spoke, "I guess?"

And they laughed and kissed. "I guess this means Neuro is evolving?" Yako jokingly asked.

"Evolving? Evolving how?"

"Evolving in a way that you couldn't have done if you hadn't met me. If we didn't meet, you might have still been blind in the feeling of being embraced and loved. If we didn't meet, you might have still been that cold person that you really hate to be—still living behind the large and icy walls without feeling emotions. Those flowers you gave me that day—they symbolize your whole heart, your deeply hidden feelings that have been bottled up inside you; feelings that you didn't know you possess. And... I think the reason you never wanted to tell me what the flowers mean was because you think that I will think of you as weak, right?"

Neuro didn't speak, and opted to silently smile instead as he pulled her close to his chest, burying his nose in her hair as he sighed contentedly.

And a lone thought echoed in his mind as he giddily smiled like an overjoyed child.

When did I realize that I have fallen madly for this girl?

* * *

><p>Night had fallen by the time Neuro woke up. Glancing at the digital clock, it was nearing eight. <em>We fell asleep?<em>

He looked at Yako, still stupidly smiling while sleeping, and he suddenly had the urge to flick her nose just to give him some amusement, though he held back. Green eyes glanced at Yako's computer, which was still turned on. He went over to the desk and turned it off immediately, mumbling something about wasting electricity and 'thoughtless hippos'.

He pondered over the time, and glanced at the still sleeping Yako, and he felt his stomach rumbling.

He groaned. _We didn't eat lunch. And it's night._

Deciding to let her sleep for now, he went over to her and mumbled something to her ear as he kissed her temple. And he walked out of the room to make dinner—for once.

Once he was in the kitchen, he quickly whipped up a plethora of ingredients he found in the fridge. A sealed pack of squids, a small bag of shrimps, a pack of crab sticks, some fatty tuna—_Oh, she loves these_—a plastic of oysters, five strips of raw beef, a container filled with soba, a small container of narutomaki, a box of leftover bento, pickled plums in a jar, cucumbers, some lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, green onion, a cup of natto beans (which he threw away with no hesitation), a small bottle of anchovies, four eggs and a small box of mochi.

"That should do it. Now—condiments."

Mirin, soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, hot sauce and salt.

He laid everything out on the counter, and he bit his inner cheek as he eyed the food with his hands on his hips.

And he grinned.

* * *

><p>Yako woke up at nine o'clock, and when she saw that Neuro wasn't beside her, she immediately checked everywhere.<p>

Neuro's sense of paranoia had passed on to her, it seemed.

A flurry of steps was heard from the staircase, and from the kitchen, Neuro called out to her.

"Dinner's ready, piggy," he said as he just finished making the preparations, knowing fully well that Yako was now watching him—

—and the table full of food.

"You can _cook?_ I thought you said you don't cook?"

"You sound so surprised. Just because I said I don't cook doesn't mean I _can't_," and he washed his hands with a small smile as he looked at her. "Since Sonobe-_san_ isn't here tonight, and since you were sleeping with that imbecilic look on your face again, I figured I should cook for tonight because I—or should I say _we_—are starving like hounds." He clapped once and sat on the chair, "No time for talking. Now, sit, kitty!"

She did as she was told, and when they said their thanks for the food, they ate.

The dishes he made were delicious.

"How did you make these?" Yako asked, her mouth full of rice and squid.

"Don't speak with your mouth full, stupid. The food is easy enough to make. At least I didn't burn the stove."

"Don't remind me of that."

"Heh. Oh right. Hayasaka called earlier. Something about the new suspect."

"The Indian boy? Vijaya, was it?"

"Yup. He said he wants us to drop by next weekend. He has something to show us. Dunno what that is. He wouldn't tell. He said it will 'make me ballistic'. Could be overreacting."

"...Ballistic. Why would you be ballistic?"

"Who knows. Well, that's all the news he said. Now, eat up."

Yako pondered over Yukinori's words, and shrugged them off as she ate. "Ah. Ootoro!" and she took a fairly large piece of the fatty tuna from the plate in front of her and ate it in one bite, stifling a squeal. "It'sh melting in m'mouth! Om—sho' tasteh!"

Neuro grinned from beside her, chuckling as he looked at her thoroughly pleased expression, "I knew you'd like it."

"And the soba tastes nice—you made it look like ramen, I see. That's rare."

"Yup. Complete with green onion, pieces of beef, shrimps, crab sticks and narutomaki—just how you like them. And there are oysters, too."

"You know my taste so well."

He rolled his eyes playfully, smiling, "Of course I do, stupid."

She smiled in return and ate a part of the soba drenched in hot broth, eating it with a loud slurp. "I shure hop' there'sh still some food left for tomorrow."

Neuro only laughed as he ate a piece of tamagoyaki, nodding as he looked at her chin covered in bits of green onion.

"...What?" Whaat? What's so funny?"

Neuro laughed harder.

* * *

><p>Second week in college seemed fine enough. Yako's professors were strict, though. Only a few were kind and lenient and not acting all Spartan-like when in the classroom.<p>

Yako walked down the spacious and glassy hallways, searching for her next classroom.

"Um... Language Structures, it says here... Oh. Here it is." She opened the door and entered the quite noisy room.

Yako gulped at the sight of her new classmates mingling with each other. _New people._

She soundlessly closed the door and made her way to the seat at the back, hoping that no one saw her enter the room. _I could see everything from here, anyway._

"Hey, all! A fresh face is here!"

Yako suddenly wanted to shrink in her seat and disappear as three men looked at her with dirty stares and lewd smiles.

_Neurooo...!_

* * *

><p>"—and so even after all that, the killer couldn't have performed the crime from that angle, as a huge obstruction was in the way. Therefore, I think your line of reasoning is flawed in that aspect. If the killer might have moved all the way to the other side just to get his kill, chances are he would be seen by people—let's not forget his goal was to keep a low profile at all costs. Which means that, if we were to follow your exact example, the wall would have been shot and not the victim! Also, if he were to shot the victim at close range, then there should have been traces of gunpowder burn on the victim's clothes! But there was none, which means it's sound to say that the victim was shot at an estimated range of two to three meters!"<p>

The students and the professor stared and gaped at Neuro, who was explaining all the details of a murder scenario from the board.

The professor nodded, clearly understanding Neuro's point of view, "Well, that definitely sounds more plausible, Nougami-_kun_. Um, what say you, sir? Do you have a counter argument?"

The student—_A stick thin male who probably has no sense of thought_—who had told an impossible theory earlier about the method of killing could only stammer and shake his head, mumbling a short word of apology as he sat down, completely shamefaced.

And a loud roar of applause echoed in the room as Neuro bowed with a smirk.

* * *

><p>Lunch break. The only time when Neuro could get some well-deserved peace—away from the stuck-up professors and suck-up students.<p>

He was eating his last piece of onigiri as he sat on one of the benches in front of the library that he intended to go to once he finished with his humble meal when—

"Oh, hello! You're the guy from Theories class earlier, right? The one with the sharp deduction skills?"

A black-haired woman donned in a blazer and white button-down shirt coupled with a gray pencil skirt and a pair of kitten-heeled shoes appeared, and she had almost the same type of hairstyle that Yako had. And Neuro growled in his last bite, trying hard not to throw the onigiri wrappers in the intrusive woman's face. "Yeah? So?" _Can't you see I'm eating and don't want to be bothered?_

The troublesome woman sat down on the bench at a decent one-meter distance away from Neuro.

"I was hoping if you could teach me some of your skills! You were completely in control of the class earlier, even the professor was amazed! This is my second course after I took up Culinary Arts! But I feel like I want to try something new so I took up Political Science. Oh, right. I haven't introduced myself—I'm Todoroki Shizuka, nice to meet you!"

Neuro didn't even look at her, not even once, and a dry reply of "Nougami Neuro" was mumbled from his lips.

"'Neuro'? That's a weird name."

His green eyes quickly darted to his left where she sat, and he gave her a cold glare.

"Ah, oh—no, no! I'm sorry, I have the tendency to blurt out things the moment I think of them. Silly me. Um, by the way, about our class for tomorrow, Japanese Constitution, could you give me a few tips to memorize some of them? I mean, the preamble could be hard to memorize word for word and—"

"If you want to memorize, then go to somewhere quiet and study. Don't go around bothering others," and Neuro stood and threw away the wrappers in the bin and made his way to the library, not even sparing Shizuka a glance.

He thought she would leave if he turned away and left, but _no_—

"Um, Nougami-_san_, wait!"

Neuro clenched his fist in his pocket, yet he ignored that whining voice.

And surely, the sound of _footsteps_ echoed louder as he made his way to the reception area.

A hand grabbed Neuro's arm, and he was close to growling as he faced Shizuka.

He really wanted to shove his shoe on her face.

"What do you want?"

"Let's study together!"

"What the hell are you talking about, bitch. I study _alone_. Let go."

"Eh, but that's boring! If you want we could sit together for tomorrow's class—"

The sound of a meowing kitten was heard from Neuro's pocket, and his eyes lit up as he roughly tugged his arm away from the woman's grasp and answered his call.

"Yako? Why did you call? You still have one more class, right? ...you're here? What do you mean you're here? You have no last class for today... Fine, where are y—"

Neuro almost dropped his phone as a thin pair of arms quickly wrapped around his torso. He turned around, and he saw Yako beaming widely at him.

"When did you get here."

"Just now. I figured we could eat some lunch—today was _awful._"

"So that's why you came here."

"Of course!"

And Neuro chuckled as he put his phone back in his pocket and when Yako thought that he was going to get mad, he promptly squeezed and lifted her as he rubbed his cheeks against her hair and he cooed, "I miss my bolster!"

"N-Neuro, not in public, dummy...! People are staring...!"

"I don't care—I want my bolster and I want her now. So squishy!" And he rubbed his cheek on hers like an overly affectionate cat. Yako could swear Neuro almost purred. She laughed and returned the gesture as well.

All the while, Shizuka stood by, blinking at the seemingly sudden shift of the odd man's behavior. Just seconds ago, he seemed to be in a bad mood, but now...

"Okay, Neuro, you can put me down now—"

"No. You're squishy."

Neuro was definitely in a bad mood just a few minutes prior, Yako supposed. He would only act like this if someone or something pushed him the wrong way.

"Neuro? How about we eat at the udon place for today?" It was a start, distracting him with food. "Or maybe we'd go to the nearest bookstores and buy you something?"

At this, Neuro hummed and stopped squeezing Yako's bones and looked at her. He squinted at her, "Ten books for ten bowls of udon."

Yako beamed, "Deal! Now, put me down."

Surprisingly, Neuro obeyed, and he hurriedly tugged Yako by the collar (she tried not to make a fuss) as he made his way to his van, leaving Shizuka awkwardly standing in the middle of the reception area.

Shizuka puffed her cheeks and stomped as she crossed her arms and fought against yelling out to him. Huffing, she dug into her purse for her phone and called a number.

"Hello? Yes, _Sempai!_ I think I finally found the student you were talking about! He's studying here in Soudai! ...eh—you knew? Oh, right. Of course you knew—haha. Silly me. Anyway, a girl suddenly popped up and seemed to be close to him... Um, about um... A foot smaller than your student. With yellow-orange hair—kind of. And—what? ...oh, she wears strange hairclips. Like teeth. Eh? Fiancée? Um, yeah. Didn't notice if they have rings but I think he called her 'Yako'... Oh, so they're engaged? No wonder they looked so chummy. Well, I'll call you if I get any more updates. Bye, _Sempai!_"

She ended the call and smirked triumphantly.

_Nougami Neuro and Katsuragi Yako, eh..._

* * *

><p>Personally, I think Shizuka is the most annoying characters in the series. :x<p> 


	26. Revertor

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Six: Revertor<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** A part of the conversation in this chapter actually happened between me and a male friend two days before I wrote this. He said that he once asked his girlfriend about the difference of pads and liners and tampons—and awkwardness and scientific explanations ensued. Srsly.

Plus, I think Neuro would be vaguely curious about the way the human body works—him being the type of person that always thirsts for knowledge and all. :x

(Reuploaded because of several errors. Sorry. orz)

* * *

><p>The whir of the engine rumbled in Yako's ears as Neuro drove away from Waseda, quite at a normal pace, for once. The only abnormal thing he was doing was—<p>

"Neuro, just because the windows are made with privacy glass doesn't mean you have to turn me into your personal horn."

"But you're squishy. Squishier, actually. Are you ovulating?"

"I think. I actually feel heavier than usual."

"Must be all the food in your thighs. Hm. I'll buy you chocolate and licorice tea. They work great on those mood swings and hormones, I've heard. Do you have a specific brand in mind?"

"Um, no. Any brand works fine."

"Well, good."

"Neuro, you can stop squeezing my boob now."

"No. You're squishy. I like you like this. Your body is softer. You're a bit puffy in the face right now, but squishing you in other parts is fine. See?" As though for emphasis, his right hand fondled her left breast as his left hand remained on the steering wheel, smiling and licking the bit of drool from his lips as he did so. "So squishy I could cry in happiness—!"

"...I don't know if I should be disturbed or flattered by that comment..."

They stopped by a nearby convenient store and Neuro bought ten packs of chocolate bars and two boxes of licorice tea as he promised. All the while, Yako stood by him, stifling her giggling as he watched Neuro smiling as he put the items in the basket that she held. A newspaper was also thrown in the basket, along with ten bags of potato chips and—

"Oh. Neuro, I think I can handle that one."

Neuro blinked and stood awkwardly as he watched Yako specifically pick out two packs of pads from her right—she checked out their labels and nodded, and put them in the basket.

"Does it matter what label it is?"

"Of course. You wouldn't understand it. You're not a female."

Neuro's brows rose as he stared at the seemingly similar feminine products laid out in front of him. "Well, I think I need to know now. These things all look the same to me."

Yako snapped her head to him, as though he just said the most absurd thing on the planet. "Did you just subtly ask me what kind of sanitary pads I use?"

His upper lip almost curled in a little grimace, "Well, of course. I'm living with you from now on, right? If you ran out of supplies in your house and you badly need them (at a very inconvenient time), and there is no one else in the house but you and me—who would go rushing down the nearest store to buy you your supplies? You with the horrible bleeding mess running between your thighs?"

Yako clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, blocking away the disgusting image of her running with period blood between her legs.

"See? Which is why I am asking you to tell me what is the difference of each one."

Near Yako's left, a woman who accidentally overheard their conversation giggled as she picked out a box of tissues from the opposite aisle, bowing discreetly to her as she met Yako's eyes and casually left with a hardly-contained grin.

Yako looked unsure, opening and closing her mouth as she tried to find the words to say to him.

Those blinking emerald eyes of his were looking at her _so_ innocently.

She surrendered with a sigh.

"Well, um—I'll explain them to you quickly... when no one is around."

* * *

><p>Their conversation in the minivan remained the same, and Neuro was stubborn on keeping it on one topic as they drove their way to the udon house.<p>

He had been pestering a flustered Yako for some time now since they left the convenience store, asking her with questions that Yako thought of as too personal. Though, for Neuro, his questions were merely formed to satisfy his constant curiosity about his Kitten's preference about certain things.

He had asked her about the difference between scented and unscented liners, the difference between a regular, a maxi, a night pad and a maternity pad, the difference between the ones with wings and the ones without wings, the difference between liners and ultra thin liners—

—he even asked about what kind of absorbency she wanted in a pad—

—and he had asked all of those questions to Yako within two minutes flat.

Yes, the poor girl mentally counted.

"So, how about those little white dynamite things—"

And she laughed at how Neuro referred them as.

"_Tampons_, Neuro. _Tampons_—not dynamites. Sheesh, that sounds scary."

And she blatantly enumerated the advantages and disadvantages of "those little white dynamite things" with her bitty fingers.

"You'd need a mirror as a guide if one is putting it in for the first time. You need a lube to insert it in if the one you chose is the dry type. It feels uncomfortable if you don't insert it right. You cannot wear it overnight. Same goes for mooncups if you're going to ask about them. Though I think cups are scary looking at first. I mean... 'What if I shoved it in the wrong way and it gets stuck? They look huge! That wouldn't fit in there!' is the kind of thought I had when I first saw it."

Neuro hummed and slowed to a stop as the traffic light turned red. "Just hearing that from you makes me think how complicated it is to be a part of the female species. And you have to deal with it every month."

"Hah! You said that right. And I have to deal with random pimples popping up during this time of the month, not to mention my mood swings and I have to control every emotion down to a simmer or else I'll go into a rampage... Don't laugh. If there are things that I'm grateful for monthlies is that—well, it's a sign that I'm not pregnant. Also, I feel my chest is heavier during those times. And I feel—um—even more... _prurient_ than usual. And that's it. Now, can we change the topic, please?"

Listening to Yako rant always amused Neuro to no end. Through her rants, he knew what was going through her tiny head.

As long as she kept her rants to a maximum of five minutes and ten seconds, of course. A bit more than that and he would have to make her stop talking. Maybe shoving his fingers in her mouth would do.

Speaking of which...

"What _is_ it that makes you wild? Aside from me giving you a harsh spanking and scratching your thighs, of course. Since, you just said that you feel more... _'prurient'_, as you put it."

"Geh? Why ask this all of a sudden!"

Neuro grinned and he casted her a sidelong glance, showing her a bit of his fanged teeth. "I want to know. _Everything_. Everything that makes you go wild—what drives you crazy so much that it will leave you trying to rip your hair out while screaming madly for more."

Yako gulped and awkwardly faced the windshield window, her hands unconsciously finding their way in between her knees that were now restlessly rubbing against each other, finding friction in that one place—

"...Neuro. That's very specific of you."

Even if she wasn't looking at him directly, she could tell that he was grinning widely now.

And that velveteen voice of his was doing its greatest job of teasing her to no end.

"Of course I should be specific. If I weren't, how could I even make you come like a gushing waterfall (again) if you're not going to tell me what you want?"

Yako instantly blushed. _He's too frank!_

She hesitated, bit her inner cheek, and spoke in a soft voice that was too inaudible for Neuro.

"I didn't hear it, maggot."

Yako sighed and gulped, and she could almost _feel_ his sadistic smirk on her nape. Her head slowly bowed and looked away from him completely.

_This is all your fault, Neuro—that I've become like this_.

"...down."

Neuro blinked as he looked at the road, "Didn't hear it, kitty."

"...I said, 'I want you to tie me down'."

"With?"

"Silk rope. Like last time."

He smirked, "So you're into that, eh."

"Sh-shut up. You're the one who taught me such things. You're the one who taught me how to like it rough."

"And you're fine with that?"

Silence. And then—

"Y-yes..."

He gave her a toothy grin, along with that blank smile she was so familiar with, "There, that wasn't so bad to admit, was it? Now, as your reward for being the honest slave that you are, I'll buy you another pair of your favorite Nu-Bra! Since I kind of ripped off the last pair that I bought you—"

"Don't give me that kicked puppy look again, dummy. You ripped them off my chest like waxing strips!"

"And I gave you a chest rash for a week."

"Gah! Don't remind me of that!"

He laughed, she whined—and when they were finally near the udon house, Yako suddenly sprang back to life.

* * *

><p>Five thirty in the afternoon, and Neuro and Yako were nearing home.<p>

Once the minivan was parked, and the two have entered the house, they were greeted by a surprise standing by the doorway.

"Oh, Katsuragi-_chan!_ Nice to see you again!"

And Yako beamed and hurriedly took off her shoes and greeted Aya with much cheer.

Neuro, on the other hand, stood by the doorway, eyes wide and blinking and his mouth thin and speechless at what just happened.

"Aya-_san_, nice to see you! Is it your day off today?"

Neuro's mouth opened just the tiniest bit.

_What did I just hear?_

Curious green eyes watched as his fiancée talked animatedly with whom he always considered as a nuisance in their lives.

He took off his shoes and stepped in, standing behind Yako as he had always been.

"And since when did the two of you become so close?" His tone was a bit miffed. Yako never told him exactly when she called Aya by her first name.

Yako then looked at Neuro with a wide smile, "Since she told me she got over you."

Neuro's eyebrow rose, his expression amused as he sighed and shook his head. He didn't know how to phrase it, but he was sure that the face that Yako just made was a face of a she-devil disguising herself as an innocently smiling angel.

"...I don't understand women at all."

Aya giggled.

* * *

><p>"...In the end, Aya-<em>san<em> got into a bit of trouble with Godai-_san_. Saying he was a blubbering mess whenever he talked to her. She says she didn't know why—though I think it has something to do with him suddenly falling for her beauty. Mutsuki-_tan_—I'm worried for her."

"Hah. I knew it. That fly constantly thinks of nothing but that teeny thing hanging from between his legs. So? Did she tell you anything else?"

"Un. She simply dropped by to give me a homemade recipe of the ramen she made. She says it's selling really well, and Godai-_san_ repaid her by bawling all over her. Or so she said."

"Bah. Spineless pig as always. Let's wait until the wee shrimp finds out about this."

Yako giggled as she slowly and carefully sat down on his stomach, toying with his left hand that wasn't occupied by the book that was casually stealing Neuro's concentration.

Honey-brown eyes watched the variety show on the TV screen, a host of sorts was asking a member of the audience about some random fruit that came to their mind.

Footsteps were heard behind them, and Seiichi called out to his daughter.

Yako craned her neck, "Yes, Father?"

"Oh, you're watching those variety shows again. Hm—oh well. Ah, Yako, where is Neuro? I have something to tell him—"

All of a sudden, Yako screeched as she fell from the couch with a loud thud. And up sat Neuro, sporting that usual innocent smile of his as he looked at Seiichi while ignoring Yako who had hit her head on the coffee table, "Ah, Seiichi-_san_. What is it you ask of me?"

Seiichi blinked, and idly scratched his hair, "You were lying on the couch, I see. Didn't see you there, son. Haha! Oh right, I just want to tell you two that Haruka and I will be leaving for the gala tonight. Miwako will stay here and watch over you two for the meantime."

Yako, who had now recovered from her earlier fall, stood up and rubbed her head, "Eh? That was tonight? Don't we get to go?"

Haruka appeared from the doorway, smiling, "Oh, Yako. Even if we want you and Neuro to come with us, there won't be enough tickets. There is a special pass provided for those who will attend and—um. Those are only for your Father and I and... Well, if we bring you two along, the other people in the party won't be able to eat." And she let out a forced laugh as Yako let out a wistful sigh.

"Yes, yes. I understand, Mother."

Neuro merely graced the Katsuragi couple with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mother, Father! I'll take care of Yako with my own life!"

* * *

><p>"—is what you said two hours ago but why am I tied up like this again!"<p>

"Eh? But you told me you wanted to be tied up with a silk rope, right? To wear my button-down Victorian shirt wide open and be tied up and blindfolded and be completely deprived of your sense of sight as I spank and fondle you senseless until you scream out my name while coming and then pass out in the heavenly bliss of afterglow—"

"I didn't say anything of what you just said, asshole!"

"Heh. Either way, your parents are out tonight. Sonobe-_san_ is in the living room taking her break and I have this room completely soundproofed so no one will hear us. Everything is according to plan. Now stay still and let me put your favorite teeny massager in your cute little—"

"...ah...!"

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it? I know you always prefer the vibrations on the highest setting, but let's put in on the medium setting for tonight. For a change of pace." Neuro admired his work with a smile as he gazed at the scantily-clad Yako sprawled and tied and blindfolded beneath him. Trailing his middle finger down her heaving chest, he hummed as her breath hitched and her back slightly arched, and when he traced the outlines of her torso with his palm, he could see her shakily sighing with a permagrin plastered on her lips.

_Oh_.

He did it once more just to confirm it if his hunch was right, and again, her reaction was the same. Neuro tried it with two hands this time, his forefingers lightly nudging her tender bosom.

She bit her lower lip and squirmed, quietly whispering Neuro's name as she felt two strong hands taking a firm grasp of her currently too tender chest. Her grin returned tenfold as he squeezed them.

"So it's true that you are more sensitive once the woman's curse is near. Mother Nature did something beautiful, for once. And your reactions are more wanton than usual. Hm. I'm beginning to regret all of the times I went home just to give you a week of space for the past few years. Squeezing you like this is so much fun!"

Her back arched and she whined.

Neuro's phone then rang and he growled, cursing as he answered it; all the while, his right hand never left Yako's attention-seeking flesh. "What do you want now Hayasaka. I'm busy here."

"_Just sayin' hi!_"

"Tch. Go bother your drinking buddy if just want to say hi. I'm hanging up—"

"_Oi, oi! Don't hang up on me just yet! I have something to ask ya!_"

Neuro rolled his eyes, "I'm putting you on loudspeaker so make it quick." And he did just as so, putting his phone on loudspeaker and putting it back on the dresser, just so both of his hands could fondle Yako to the fullest. She bit her lip and tried not to make a sound.

"_Okay, here goes... Uhrm. I want to give Kanae a great time and—_"

"Then stop talking on the phone and go give her a great time." And Neuro slowly trailed kisses down Yako's neck, and she returned the gesture by nibbling on his shoulder with a sigh.

"_But that's the problem! I don't know how! I mean, buying her the things that she want aren't enough and she says she wants me to 'step up'! How should I know what she's thinking!_"

Neuro moaned as he kissed Yako's lips, pulling her to him even closer when she responded with her too eager tongue slowly lapping and circling on his own. He nipped her lower lip, licking it lightly, and she quietly sucked on his tongue, nibbling it carefully as she hummed, sending ticklish vibrations straight to Neuro's groin.

"_Hello? Hellooo?_"

"Hn—mm—heh—_good girl_—hn—yes—oh." A hiss, a sigh. "Right. You were saying, Snowman?"

"_Geh. Yer with Katsuragi, aren't ya._"

* * *

><p>What came to be known as the "white room" in the Hayasaka residence was now a not-so-white room.<p>

A sickly green and yellow mess of a puddle resembling vomit was flowing near Jody's feet, along with a pungent puddle of urine mixed with blood drenching his shoes—he had been confined in the room for too many days, months even, so much that he had lost count.

Seeing a single ray of sunlight was enough for him, but _no_.

Everyday, it was always the four corners of the room he had been seeing. If he looked down, he would see his disgusting bodily fluids. If he looked at his body, he would see the numerous lumps of pus, bruises and wounds riddled all over his exposed flesh. If he even tried to do so much as to sniff his too tattered clothes, even he himself would gag.

On the floor, far from the seat where Jody was tied to, was a medicine kit of sorts, along with a large bottle of clean water and some painkillers.

All of them were probably laced with poison.

Vijaya had done a great job of torturing him.

_That sick sonofa—_

The door creaked open, and in came the boy Jody had been cursing.

"Hello again. Feeling under the weather lately?"

The Turk growled and bared his teeth at the Indian boy.

* * *

><p>The library in Toukyou Gaikokugo was definitely huge, as Yako described. Books about anything of any language were shelved on aisles upon aisles of books.<p>

And Neuro was quite happy in reading all the interesting books based on their titles alone.

He sat at one of the empty tables in the reading area, and gently put all two dozens of books on the table and began to read. He glanced at the wall clock. _Two hours before Yako finishes her class._

Starting with a book about Hebrew relics, he scanned the pages, smiling as he hummed every now and then.

On the table next to him, he could hear two girls whispering to one another. He acted as though he was hearing nothing, though.

"_Every Friday he comes here at the same time and he would read lots of books. He's not borrowing them—a visitor maybe. This is the seventh time I've seen him here._"

"_He's always waiting for someone, it seems._"

"_Have you seen who?_"

"_No. He always returns the books to their proper place and would leave before I could even see who it is he's waiting for._"

"_Do you think it's his girlfriend?_"

"_Could be. I mean, he has the looks. Like a Westerner. I won't be surprised if he has a girlfriend._"

"_He's wearing a ring on the right. Look._"

"_Is it a wedding ring? He looks rather young._"

"_Not sure. He could be a European if he wears it on the right. Americans wear it on the left._"

Neuro tried not to chuckle. Really, hearing women gossip over him every time he would sit in the library just to read—_could they just leave me alone?_

He had already finished reading three thick books by the time his phone vibrated in his pocket. Neuro sighed in relief when Yako texted. _I am in the same place as always, stupid... Sent. There._

Emerald orbs glanced at the wall clock once more, though his vision was suddenly blackened by a pair of tiny hands covering his startled eyes.

Neuro smiled, and he slid one of the small hands to his lips and kissed the chocolate-scented fingertips as he looked at Yako's warm brown eyes.

Looking at her from an upside-down angle really was weird. For him, at least—not that he would tell her that.

"Hello, Mister Bookworm."

"Hello, Miss Termite-Ruining-the-Pages-of-the-Books."

"You're cruel."

"Heh. Well? How did your quiz go? Got all the answers wrong?" and just when Yako was about to reply, he stretched out his arms to her, pulling Yako down for a slick, playful and languid kiss—

—and Neuro made sure that the two girls on the table behind him could see what he was doing to Yako.

Judging from the gasps he heard, he was sure they saw what he was doing.

Yako slowly pulled away after a full minute, her cheeks flushed and her breath coming out in short pants as she licked Neuro's tongue one last time before straightening and composing herself, looking to her left and right just to check that no one noticed them—apparently, she never realized that there was a pair of girls ogling at them the whole time.

Yako licked her lips once more as she looked at Neuro's smug face, and before she could dive in for another kiss—because she was sure he was silently _daring_ her to kiss him again—Neuro already stood up and patted her head.

"I like that," Yako said, quite bravely, too. "That's the first time you kissed me like that. It was—um..."

"Hot? Sexy? New? _Exciting?_"

"Um, yeah. Somewhere around those lines—and your face is too close right now, Neuro...!"

In response, he grinned and gave her another wet lip lock.

* * *

><p>Summer holiday was about to end, yet Neuro still had the gall to bring Yako to the hotel hot springs.<p>

At least she always got to eat at a kaiseki restaurant—a 14-course meal definitely was a gift from him.

Tonight, they were in one of the most popular tourist spots in Tohoku region, a resort where the seas and the white sand could be seen from the large windows of the hotel rooms—and Neuro made it a task to ravish Yako to the fullest.

"U-um, Neuro... Our friends are on the next room and—"

"Ssh—keep your voice down if you don't want to be heard. Though, the walls are not really that thin."

"Ah—m-my n-ni—ah. You're sucking on them too hard...!"

"Hn... But they're so puffy and soft and chewy—"

"My nipples are not food...!"

"_Hn..._" Slurp.

He slowed down in his actions, opting to lick her nipples with his whole tongue and sucking on them lightly with an audible _pop_—

"A-ah... F-fu—"

A tongue lapped on her moist nub, teeth and canines grazed on the underside of her right breast, the soft flesh being caught in between a pair of skillful lips—and he trailed light kisses down to her navel, until his mouth met Yako's dripping essence.

* * *

><p>From the next room, Kanae had been struggling not to pound her fist on the wall while she and the others were playing cards on the floor.<p>

"They're... getting louder, Yuki," mumbled Kanae. Her eye twitched as she looked at her pair of clubs.

Yukinori merely slapped a palm to his face as he clearly heard Yako's voice escalating by the second. "Though Nougami is good at keeping his voice down."

Shinobu growled as he glared at his dead man's hand. He scratched his head as he glared at the wall. "Geh. Maybe he's down on 'er clam suckin' 'er soul dry an' that's why the monster's so silent! Gyahahaha—! Ha. H-ha... Sorry."

Mutsuki merely hummed and smiled at her straight flush. Unbeknownst to the others, her cell phone was turned to its _Record_ setting, clearly wanting to record her Neuro-_nii_ and _nee-chan_ and their nightly rendezvous.

After a two-hour session of moaning and yelping, Yukinori and the others finally heard silence, and it was only then that Mutsuki pressed the _Stop_ button on her phone and saved the recording earlier.

Kanae, having to hold in her pee for so long (for some reason), decided to leave the room to go to the nearest toilet, and just as she opened the door to go out, she saw Neuro standing by the doorway next to her, donned in a too-large yukata that was showing a bit too much of his pale and toned upper body.

His robe was slipped down from his left shoulder, and the robe's sash was tied loosely—inadvertently showing a bit too much of his lower abdomen that looked like it had been doused in water—though he made no move to fix it.

The other thing that distracted Kanae, however, was that Neuro looked rather preoccupied. His deep green eyes were half-lidded and clouded as he languidly licked and sucked something from his right hand.

She didn't know what to do, really. Or what to ask him after seeing him in such a state of almost undress. So when Neuro blankly realized that someone was watching him, he looked and idly hummed at Kanae with a nod.

"Oh. Hello, Yako's friend," he mumbled, idly licking the tip of his middle finger as he did so.

Kanae gulped and stiffly bowed, trying hard not to blush as she looked at his thoroughly mussed up hair and slightly damp face and neck. And when she mustered the courage to greet him back, he was already making his way to the nearest toilet, just two rooms away.

He was quietly whispering Yako's name as he walked—like a sacred mantra leaving his lips covered in Yako's essence.

Once out of her field of vision, Kanae took a deep breath and curiously peeked at the room where Yako was. Good thing Neuro left the door slightly ajar.

Not as she expected, the room was lightly illuminated by a small bedside lamp, bathing everything in a warm yellow glow. Yet the first thing Kanae noticed was a completely naked and sleeping Yako lying on the bed with her bare legs sprawled on what Kanae assumed as her best friend's yukata along with the sea of blankets beneath her spent form. She also noticed a sash wrapped loosely around Yako's left arm, and near her hand was a belt. Kanae assumed that belt was Neuro's.

She stifled a gasp when Yako stirred, muttering something about meat buns, and Kanae immediately went back to her room before Neuro returned, her face sporting a beet red hue and her mind reeling with sinful images of her best friend and her best friend's fiancé screwing each other senselessly.

When Neuro returned, he smiled upon seeing a disheveled Yako looking so _defenseless_ on the bed, and when he locked the door and came up to her on the edge of the bed, he saw her hazy brown eyes slowly open. She sat up and, as though in a trance, her small hands shakily felt up Neuro's upper body, her warm palms grazing on the bare and supple skin her fingertips touched as she reached out and kissed his Adam's apple slowly, all the way down below his navel.

She clutched and wrapped her thin arms around him, effectively pulling down the loosely-tied yukata to pool around Neuro's waist, revealing much of his half-nakedness to her glassy eyes.

"Master is kind tonight," she whispered, her mind still drifting above the clouds as she nibbled on his toned flesh, "he let his slave lick on Master's snake. This slave is happy..."

Neuro knew that when Yako spoke in the third person point of view, she was in her state of sheer, unadulterated bliss—much like someone who had just taken a high dosage of drug. Much of what she wouldn't normally say, she would fearlessly say once she had been given what she truly wanted. Neuro had the power to drive her to willing submission if he goaded her enough—and the results have always exceeded his high expectations.

His amused green eyes watched as Yako happily nuzzled her cheek right on the spot where his crotch was hidden by the yukata. Indeed, he had let her have a taste of him earlier, provided that the light was turned off so she could only feel and not see. In truth, he couldn't refuse Yako's request—for once—she had been an obedient and willing kitten in bed. How could he even say no? So he did what he had to do. Grant her plea of tasting him down there. It was a good thing he was a regular shaver in that specific area.

She had went on full-force in taking all of him in one go—licking him and swallowing him and his fluids the moment he couldn't take it anymore.

And her hands were good at multitasking, too.

_I guess she's a natural at this. I thank my fingers constantly hanging in her mouth every time I had the chance._

Looking at her now, her eyes were still glossy and unfocused, and she still had a bit of his come on the corners of her too luscious lips.

He gulped as her hand eagerly pumped repeatedly on the length of his manhood through his yukata. He may not let Yako see him in a full naked state, but he sure allowed her to feel.

_Oh._

He was throbbing now. Again.

And seeing her tongue slowly running over her upper lip was just too damn _erotic_ for him.

He smoothed her hair, smiling appreciatively at her and her sheer will to please him.

"Yako has been a great slave to her master. Feed your willing slave again, please...!"

And Neuro's bright green-black eyes widened in delight upon hearing those words.

* * *

><p>Second term in college was already wearing out some of the students of Soudai, but not Neuro.<p>

"—the brain cells in the human body contains over—"

The green-eyed man's new professor was rather eccentric in some ways, not that he was complaining. The professor's methods of teaching were profound and interesting, to say the least—and that was a bonus for the easily-bored Neuro.

Looking at the guy's face now, some who would approach him for the first time might find him a bit strange—that, and along with his habit of talking to himself when he was alone, was enough for some people to label him as a nutcase.

And the professor's nose was too huge and crooked, it distracted some of the students.

If the students in his class would _truly_ get to know him, though, they would have a different opinion of him. Neuro knew the professor personally, of course. He knew of the man through Hisanori a few months ago when he and Yako visited the Hayasaka mansion about Vijaya. Surprisingly, Neuro didn't know then, that the man who had given Jody Tubulik a thorough mental torture by toying with the neurons in the Turk's brain by some bizarre machine that would force him to forget certain situations, would one day become one of his teachers.

The world really was small, if you look at it from that perspective. _One day you see someone as a torturer, then your professor the next._

"—and that is all for today. Have a nice weekend."

Everyone shuffled and stuffed their things in their bags and bid their friends a quick goodbye when the bell rang. Neuro was already by the door when he was stopped by the professor.

"Ah, Nougami-_kun_. I take it everything is going well lately?"

"Why yes, _sensei_. Everything is fine."

"Everything going well with your fiancée, I hope?"

"Of course, _sensei_. She is very much well loved by me. I always make sure of that."

"Good to hear it, then," and the professor piled up the papers on the desk and gave Neuro a quick pat on the shoulder. "Cherish her with all you have before it's too late."

The words sounded odd to Neuro, and he frowned as he glanced at the man's sudden serious mood. Though Neuro, keeping up with his kind-student façade, merely nodded and smiled cheerfully at the elder male.

"Don't worry. I am cherishing all of her every second of every day."

The professor seemed to be pleased at his student's reply, and he nodded, more so to himself. "That is good, Nougami-_kun_. Keep it up."

In turn, Neuro bowed and headed out to the door, "Thank you, Harukawa-_sensei_."

* * *

><p>Neuro was already in the minivan and was about to drive away when he heard someone calling out to him.<p>

Peering at the side view mirror, he groaned when he saw Todoroki Shizuka running up to him with her annoying voice. Well, for him it was annoying.

"What now?" he barked, annoyed at having to roll down his window just to speak with this woman that had no sense of knowing the meaning of personal space.

She was breathless when she talked, "Um, can you do me a favor? I need to get to the bank to make a deposit and the next bus won't be until five and the bank closes at three today and—" she hadn't even finished talking when he cut her off with a deadpanned—

"No," and he rolled up his window and drove away, ignoring Shizuka's hollering and banging on the car as he sped up his pace, leaving a trail of dust for the woman to breathe in.

The woman had been pestering him since day one of their meeting, and there were times that he would purposefully sit at the back of a classroom that had her face in it, simply because Shizuka liked being seated at the front just to show off to her professors.

He'd rather prefer listening to Yako snoring than to listen to Shizuka's endless prattle on the latest news.

Neuro shut the current annoyance in his mind, and made a short stop to the convenience store to buy himself and Yako some snacks—which involved nine bags full of food—and quickly made his way to Toudai, parking his car in front of the building where Yako will have her last class. He grinned upon looking at the exterior of the building's large glass windows.

Today, he was feeling rather lazy to go to the library, so he opted to simply roll down the windows and lean back on the chair, letting the cool wind of October fan his face as he listened to the voices of the nearby passersby with a small smile. On the seventh minute of waiting, he was growing rather bored, and he dug in one of the plastic bags on the seat next to him and took out a can of plum wine and drank all of it within seconds. On the half hour of waiting, he had already eaten two boxes of strawberry pocky that he had meant to buy for Yako—_at least there are still five boxes left_.

By the time Neuro had already finished eating ten pieces of curry bread, he finally saw Yako walking towards the minivan in a very awkward manner. He could tell that she had been holding it in.

He watched her open the door and immediately stuffed all the bags of food that Neuro bought all the way to the backseat. "I waited for more than an hour, snail."

"Ugh. Shut up. You put that mini kokeshi in me again and it's your fault that I couldn't concentrate in all of my classes the whole day." She sat in the passenger seat and looked at her black mini skirt. "Can you tell it's wet?"

"Nope. Not until you take off your C-string and show it to me. And please, you like it anyway. I can tell from your pimple-red cheeks." He kissed her on the forehead with a lingering smile, and they drove away from Toudai, heading back to the Katsuragi residence.

She giggled, and gave him a peck on the cheek as he drove, "How perverse of you."

"I know. Though thinking about it, you were adamant on making me buy it before because it looks _new_ to your eyes. It looks like a headdress to me."

"But when I wore this 'headdress' for the first time, it made you literally drool, if memory serves."

"Touché. Blame your shaved womanly bits compelling me to drool like a dog."

* * *

><p>Time passed by slowly, and before they knew it, the seasons changed, and the chill of December was felt all around.<p>

Neuro hated feeling it, though.

"I need my meds. Ugh. My eyes are watering."

"They're in the medicine cabinet. I took them out from your bag. In case it gets spoiled or something." And Yako turned her attention back to her textbook. She had been starting learning bits of French lately, as it was a part of her curriculum, and she had been struggling to pronounce certain words.

Her German was even worse.

"Neuro, my eszett looks funny." She was now looking at a sheet of paper that she had been doodling German letters on for the past few minutes, and she was having a hard time writing certain letters, namely, the eszett.

"Just try and write '_bu_'—it's kind of like that except make the top part a bit curvier instead of a straight one."

"Like this?" And she showed him a quick doodle of the kanji 'club', emphasizing the last character, and she tried hard to make it a bit curvier as she was told.

"Yes. Like that. See? You can write proper German alphabet. Practice makes perfect, _du Sau_."

She pouted and glared at him, "What a nice way of encouraging me, _Herr Arschloch._"

"Heh. You're learning faster than I thought, kitten," he gulped down his medicine and water, and sat down with Yako on her bed littered with dictionaries and grammar books, along with a plate of choux creams and a small bottle of green tea.

Unbeknownst to Yako, a smiling Neuro observed her as he leaned on the headboard and made himself comfortable, his forest green eyes filled with pride as he looked at her will to learn.

* * *

><p>It was already April when Neuro and Yako saw their high school friends. It had been a small reunion of sorts for the close friends, and all of them were near by their high school gates.<p>

By the time they were making their way on the familiar path on the grounds, the group of six was already hearing the students talk—some of them (the freshmen mostly) asking the others who they were. And some of them—

"Kyah! It's Yukinori-_sama_ and Neuro-_sama!_"

"Yako-_sama!_ Mutsuki-_sama!_"

"Ah, Kagohara-_sempai_ and Godai-_sempai!_"

And the most famous group in their high school's history walked down the grounds with much smiles at everyone. Seniors and juniors who were still idolizing the group for their contributions to the school have greeted them, and some even came up personally and hugged Yako with a happy cry. The freshmen have heard of the fair share the group had given, and of course, the most familiar of them—

"_The tall one with the striking green eyes—he's the only one that influenced the whole senior department to pass all the top universities in Japan, I heard. The principal says it's the first time that has ever happened. And since then, the enrollment for the following school year skyrocketed, all because of him—_"

"_He has the highest IQ in the school's history, I've heard—over 202—_"

"_I've heard it's higher than that—but who's that beside him—_"

"_Ohmigosh. How could you not know her—she's his fiancée since high school—_"

"_I heard that he proposed to her on White Day under the sakura tree behind the main building—_"

"—_and since then, couples have made that spot as a place to propose to their love interest or to rekindle their love—_"

"—_a kind of holy place, it has been. Rumor has it that whoever will propose to their love interest on White Day beneath that tree will forever be in love with that person—_"

"_That person with the green eyes had always been around her. He had never hanged out with other girls, I've heard. Always attaching himself literally all over her—'The Neuron and His Kitten', they have been dubbed as such over time. The two of them became synonymous to being 'the inseparable pair'._"

Yako, feeling a bit embarrassed by all the attention they were getting, decided to hide behind Kanae, whispering a quick, "Hide me" before tucking her head under Kanae's arm. Neuro, though, opted to merely laugh at all the rumors he had been hearing since they passed by the grounds.

Walking down the hallways, they were greeted by more students, mostly those who still knew all of them, the juniors and the seniors bowed at them with much smiles on their faces, some females even squealed upon seeing the Neuron and His Kitten once again. Yako smiled at her juniors.

"Things haven't changed at all, I see. You're still idolized by everyone, Yako," Kanae whispered to her awkwardly smiling best friend.

Shinobu smirked upon seeing the familiar faces, and some of them bowed to him. And when he saw some of them were ogling at Mutsuki—she had grown a bit, and had developed subtle curves—he glared at them, making sure he gave them the finger. Mutsuki giggled, nonetheless, her wavy hair swaying behind her as they walked—it was a part of her innocent charm. And Shinobu always had a hard time shooing away the men who had been eyeing her with lascivious intent.

Yukinori waved at some of his juniors, showing his shiny teeth to everyone he passed by. "One of the reasons why I keep on coming back here—I feel famous," he grinned at Kanae, who was now pouting upon seeing other girls eyeing Yukinori as though they want to devour him whole—

—_or maybe I'm just looking into it too much._

Still, Kanae couldn't help her bubbling jealousy, and she clung onto his arm rather possessively—Yukinori didn't mind it at all when he saw her openly glaring at some of the girls. Kanae snapped out of her thoughts when they arrived to their destination.

She gulped.

"Kanae-_chan_, this will be the first time you will see him since he left school, right?" Yako asked, who seemed to regain a bit of her composure, and was now holding Neuro's hand instead of hers a few minutes ago.

Kanae stiffly nodded. Yako was right, this will be the first time she would see _him_ since that awful incident.

The door leading to the principal's office opened, and the group of six entered.

Seated behind the desk was the familiar face of the impeccably dressed Hayasaka Hisanori, eerily smiling as ever for a reason that anyone couldn't fathom.

Standing stiffly beside him was an odd-looking man, his face void of any emotion even as Hisanori greeted the visitors and his younger brother.

The man looked well-built at first glance, though Neuro could tell that the man was hiding a plethora of wounds beneath that coat and tie.

The fact that the man looked newly-shaved and had newly-cut hair didn't faze Neuro, either.

Yako, with her eyes still locked on the statuesque man, nudged Neuro's sleeve. He slightly bent his body, and she whispered. "Who is he? He looks familiar..."

Neuro chuckled, and he looked at the man in question once more, grinning as he met eyes with him.

And the green-eyed man didn't quite lower his voice when he spoke, either.

"_That_ person—is the one who wronged me a year ago. It's the Smelly Corpse. Even if the Principal didn't tell us who he is, I could already tell from a single glance. He smells faintly of bleach, though. I can smell it from here (or maybe that's formaldehyde)…"

Kanae and Yako gasped, while Mutsuki, Yukinori and Shinobu merely stood there, with their faces sporting little smiles.

The door opened once more, and Ishigaki Jun entered with his usual cheer. It was as though nothing changed from him—still looking as young as ever.

"No wonder I kept hearing a commotion outside. All of you are here—Neuro. You should know by now that those students earlier have built a shrine for you—and Yako, too. They... did that shortly after you graduated."

Shinobu's eye twitched, "The hell would they do that?"

Yukinori guffawed and patted the grimacing man, "Godai, it's because these two," he pointed a finger at a blinking Yako and a smiling Neuro, "have become more than idols. That Nougami there, he became a god, and Katsuragi, a goddess—"

Yako snapped her head to Yukinori, her eyes wide at what she just heard, "Geh? Why? What did I do? I didn't hear any of this!"

Neuro pulled on Yako's ears painfully, blankly smiling as he laughed, "It's because you don't use these things you call ears. They're full of wax and dirt and bugs like the squishy maggot that you are—and I'm sure those scum littering the halls earlier aren't really referring you as a goddess. A gluttonous _youkai_ fits you better. Hayasaka must have misunderstood. Even if you were a goddess, only lowly bugs and invisible bacteria would worship you, Your Ugliness—"

Yako tried not to cry, he was pulling on her ears too much again, "Shut up, you big, insensitive jerk—gghrk—"

Yako tried not to choke on Neuro's fist suddenly invading her unprepared mouth. All the while, he was smiling jovially as he turned to Hisanori, "I assume the changes are complete, Principal?"

Kanae could only slap a palm to her face. Trust Neuro to be such a sadist around Yako. _She is now turning blue and is now slapping Nougami-san's arm away, but I still think it's useless._

Hisanori smiled and nodded, Kanae could tell that he was simply ignoring Neuro's odd way of showing affection for Yako. How he managed to do that was a feat for Kanae.

"Indeed, it is. As you can see, Nougami-_kun_, he is like a robot now. A puppet completely bent to my whim—and it's all thanks to that person."

"The Indian boy?" Yako asked gruffly. Kanae glanced at her best friend's flushed face.

_Nougami-san is wiping his wet hand on Yako's shirt... How did she free herself again?_

Hisanori shook his head, and he leaned back on his chair, dialing a number on his phone as he did so.

"You can come in now, if you please." And Hisanori turned off his mobile as two men entered the room.

Yako couldn't quite contain her joy upon seeing a familiar face, "Honjou-_sensei!_ And... uh—Harukawa-_san_, was it?"

The man called Harukawa eerily smiled and nodded, "We've only met once, but I see you still remember me, Katsuragi Yako. Good to see you still keeping a strong relationship with Nougami-_kun_."

Neuro "bashfully" scratched his head with a "shy" laugh, ignoring Yako and Shinobu's mumbles of _"showoff"_.

Honjou Fumio greeted Yako and everyone in the room with his familiar air of friendliness, along with his usual offering of scorched cardboard tea to everyone—which they all declined flatly.

"Honjou-_sensei_, I see you still love cardboards," Kanae joked awkwardly, trying to suppress her twitching eye. "By the way, why are you here?"

Fumio was about to answer when the sound of chuckles and laughter was heard.

Neuro talked with his college professor, Harukawa Eisuke, and Yako occasionally asked random questions about Neuro, to which Neuro supplied all the answers to her questions with a tight hug from her back along with a few whispered incoherencies.

Hisanori talked to his brother about the matter regarding the "brainwashing" of Jody Tubulik, and Eisuke nodded at the principal and Jun.

The smiling principal cleared his throat, and everyone gradually fell in complete silence.

"As you all know, this man here," he held up a hand towards the statuesque and unfocused Turk, "had given us a lot of headaches during the past two years. Starting with the Ewing incident, which we all know ended up in a complete tragedy, he had escalated to a much more debauched path. I'd rather not elaborate it—"

"Please do, _aniki_. Kanae knows nothing of this."

"—fine. This man," Hisanori pointed a finger at the unresponsive Jody once more, "participated in human trafficking and selling students whom he fancied to rich, wayward men. He also participated in sodomy—as investigated by Ishigaki-_san_ here—and selling his fellow foreigners to whorehouses abroad. Vijaya testified to all of this, and Officer Sasazuka had solid proof—videotapes and audio recordings of this deranged man's deeds. Now, few people in the school know who the real killer was in the Ewing incident. Only people from the police, and the current people present here, know of everything. Why I advised Yuki not to tell you anything, Kanae-_san_, is because we were taking precautions, making sure that none of the people who aren't really involved would know—"

"But why does Mucchan know of this—"

Hisanori nodded calmly, "You're frustrated, I see. The reason why Mutsuki knows this is because she is part of the underworld—and the other reason should probably remain a secret. Katsuragi-_chan_ here is directly involved. Her fiancé was almost fatally stabbed—had she not acted quicker than she did on giving Nougami-_kun_ a first aid, Nougami-_kun_ might not be even here today with us. Isn't that right?"

Everyone was silent, save for the sound of restlessly shifting feet from Jody. He seemed to be a decoration in the room, Neuro mused.

The door opened once more, and Neuro's eyes widened at the smiling person by the doorway. Green eyes then silently glared at Hisanori.

Yako and Kanae remained frozen in place, two pairs of brown eyes looked aghast at _that_ person.

Hisanori clapped, and scratched his head in a timid manner. He was sure that Yukinori was gnashing his teeth—

—and he was now rudely pointing a finger at the person standing by the door. "_Aniki!_ You didn't tell me anything about that runt! I thought ya killed him already!"

The aforementioned "runt" casually sauntered in the room, the familiar pair of round glasses and that ever cocky smile still on his face even after what had happened.

Black, messy hair. Green jacket. A pair of loose, white pants.

And that annoying piece of expensive, rectangular metal he had always called "Wac".

"Hey, guys! Long time no see!"

Higuchi Yuuya.

* * *

><p>'<em>Du Sau<em>' means "pig", and '_Herr Arschloch_' literally means "Mr. Asshole". Oh, and please do review. :3


	27. Rogationibus

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rogationibus<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Filum will end at Chapter 30 (or 35), and will have an epilogue after that. So I just want to say thanks to the readers who have put this fic on their favorites and alerts list and also to those who have faithfully reviewed wholeheartedly. After this, I think I will make another oneshot of MTNN, still based on the "Dulcis" series, of course. :3

* * *

><p>Yuuya had been pestering Neuro for two weeks now. Ever since the older male had appeared in Neuro's life once more, Neuro was sure that he needed a mountain's worth of patience not to kill the voyeur—Neuro still branded him as such—there and then. But it had proven to be quite difficult for the green-eyed man—<p>

—now that Higuchi Yuuya was his classmate.

"—so I didn't know that you were also in Soudai. I mean, I've been studying here since two years ago and I have never seen you around here—until two weeks ago—and I think this school year will be awesome now that we're friends and classmates this semester and all and—"

Neuro halted in his tracks. He had been trying to avoid the bespectacled man for quite a while now, he really did try, but Neuro was known to be an impatient man if it didn't involve books—

"—and Katsuragi had grown, I see. A pretty thing she became—hey. Did you happen to have anything to do with how much chest she now ha—gghrk—"

Neuro didn't care if he was standing in the middle of the student-filled hallway. Neuro didn't care if he was shoving his book of the Japanese legal system down on Yuuya's throat.

And no, Neuro didn't care when he took out his saliva-drenched book and pushed Yuuya in his own locker, locking him in place even as Yuuya screamed.

Neuro felt a lot better, and left the hallways smiling after that, happily ignoring the odd looks sent his way.

* * *

><p>Shizuka had been tense, holding in her breath for the past hour.<p>

Neuro had yet to back down from Yuuya's debate.

The two males had been debating in class for some time now, both of them wanting to get their points across—even when the professor had already told them enough.

Neuro and Yuuya were standing on each edge of the small podium, a shotgun microphone served as an audio booster for their voices. Neuro, as he was tall, had to bend down a bit just to reach the mic, smiling as he spoke.

"But then the defendant would have known that there was someone else in the room, as it was quite bare save for a divider that was placed at the corner—"

"No one was behind the divider—"

"There was an odd chest of sorts behind the screen, was it not?"

"What are you implying?"

People in the classroom were holding in their breath as banter upon banter was thrown between the unrelenting Neuro and the stubborn (and currently bruise-faced) Yuuya.

Even the professor—who was also the defendant in their little mock trial—had taken an empty seat beside a student seated at the front.

The trial had been going on for two hours and ten minutes nonstop. The class period itself was three hours.

Shizuka had her lips set into a grim line as she glanced at her watch. _It's going to be overtime again, as expected. And I'm still wondering how Higuchi-kun managed to got out of that locker…_

* * *

><p>Yako ate her tenth piece of blueberry cupcake that she had stashed in her bag before she entered the school library. She had been writing her homework about the evolution of the Anglo-Saxon language for the past hour, and her hand was becoming quite tired from writing.<p>

Beside her, one of her classmates-turned-close-friends (since last semester), Eshiya Yuka, chewed on a bubblegum as she wrote on her notebook about French history.

Both of them were classmates in their next class, European Languages, and they still have one hour left until then.

Yako had been wondering how Neuro was faring after knowing that he would be classmates with Higuchi Yuuya from now on. Hisanori had it all planned out, it seemed. He had even hid the fact from Yukinori, Shinobu and Mutsuki.

She could tell that Neuro had tried not to lash out at the principal by mimicking Hisanori's cold smile and by hugging her from behind a bit too tightly that day. Kanae had been too furious to see Yuuya's face to actually assess the situation. Ishigaki Jun had been careful (for once) not to say anything to them, and Fumio had been too busy catching up with his old friend Eisuke to care about anything else.

Jody had become a human experiment—Harukawa Eisuke's human experiment. Using hypnosis and sending slight electric jolts to the brain that was enough to "remove" some of the Turk's memories—it was too much for Yako to take in.

Though, she couldn't really complain. The proud Turk had been reduced to a mere lapdog of one constantly smiling Hisanori—he said it was his way of getting everything that Jody had taken; starting with toying and taking his dignity to shreds—

Yako shivered at the thought of what the principal had in mind after that—

"Hey, Yako. You okay?"

Yako snapped out of her thoughts and quickly shook her head. Realizing that she had just doodled drawings of rice balls on her notebook, she let out a forced laugh, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine! Just thinking of homework, that's all."

Yuka hummed and chewed on her gum as she looked at her with her sharp, black eyes.

Yako stifled a grin. _She really reminds me of Godai-san. A female version of him, definitely._

* * *

><p>"Nougami-<em>san!<em> That was awesome as always! You turned the tables to your favor the whole period! In no time, I think you'll be a great detective!"

Neuro huffed (and stifled a smile) as he walked towards the library. Shizuka—_or so she calls herself_—had been following him, as always, and the only thing that was keeping Neuro sane from lashing out at the woman was that there was only an hour left.

An hour left before he could go to Yako and cuddle her senseless.

In Neuro's mind, hugging her was his way of calming down—and right now, he was endlessly repeating a mantra in his head not to maim the noisy woman trailing behind him.

Neuro hummed as he looked at some of the book titles on the first shelf his eyes laid upon, making sure to block out a certain someone's voice from behind him. Hugging Yako for a full minute should suffice. _Hm. Or maybe cuddling her for an hour would do just fine. Yes. That would do._

"—and I think we'll be a great team in the future once we become a part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police—"

Neuro grabbed a book about the laws of the Americas, and promptly put on his earphones and cranked up the volume of his music (classical violin coupled with guitar riffs), making sure to drown away Shizuka's voice as he sat on the nearby empty table.

Shizuka pouted upon seeing Neuro sitting far from her. And she was being ignored for the umpteenth time this day alone. It had always been this way since they met—her doing all the talking while he would simply slip away towards a corner to read.

_Hmph._

She crossed her arms as she watched Neuro smiling away while reading... _whatever it was he was reading_.

She observed him as he flipped page after page within seconds. That tight-lipped smile and those wide, bright green eyes laced with fascination never left his face as he read on.

_I wonder if this is how his fiancée is feeling about him. Always reading and reading. What a boring guy._

Just as she was about to verbally whine about her sentiments, Neuro took out his phone—and he grinned.

Pausing his music on his phone, he answered the call, purposely lowering his voice so as not to attract attention from the other people reading.

"Yako..."

Shizuka could tell that she was looking like a kicked puppy. She looked at that suddenly lively flash in his expressive eyes, and the way his lips curled into a wide smile as he silently talked on the phone.

Once he was done and had already tucked his phone away, he stood up and returned the book to its proper place and made a beeline for the door—and was only stopped by Shizuka suddenly clinging onto his sleeve.

"What now?" he snapped, clearly annoyed.

Shizuka's face paled, but she didn't let go of her hold, "I... Uh... Need to—"

Neuro didn't let her finish, and he yanked his arm away from her, wordlessly storming off as he took a quick glance at the wall clock above the doors.

He quickly made his way to the building's exit, only to curse out when he saw the pouring rain.

"I hate June," he muttered. Deciding to just run all the way to where he parked his vehicle, he made a quick dash down the slippery stairs, trying his best not to slip a foot on the wet concrete while ignoring that—

—_overly serious scum that's still following me_—

Already soaking from head to toe by the time he entered the car, he hastily took off his white long-sleeved shirt and patted himself with a large kerchief that he had gotten from Yako months ago (it had strawberry designs on it).

Realizing he was now half-naked—and his seat was now soaked—he wrung out the excess water from the kerchief and his shirt to the carpet. "It'll dry soon," and he draped his shirt over his back and drove his way to Yako's uni.

Once there, he called Yako on his phone—which was thankfully unharmed by the rain—and he parked directly in front of the building she was surely in.

"_I'll be out in the front once I hand out my homework, 'kay?_"

Neuro let out a sigh, patting his face with the kerchief as he grumbled, "Hurry up. You have five minutes to do that before I drag you out there myself." He hung up and leaned back on the wet seat, unmindful of the cold his back was getting.

By the time Yako entered the car—Neuro noticed she had an umbrella and a coat on—she was already flinging out questions, yet he ignored all of it.

"You're late by ten minutes, Yako." They quickly drove away and headed for home, with Neuro sighing and rubbing his temples as Yako flipped on her talkative-mother mode.

"Never mind me being late! What's with that shirt? Why are you half-naked? Here, take my coat to keep yourself warm. Sheesh. Don't just go stripping down when you're soaking from the rain. Do you want to catch a cold and fever again?" She took his partly dry shirt and put it in one of the plastic bags she found in the glove box in front of her. "Neuro, stop the car first."

"Why?"

"Just. Please, stop the car."

He blinked at her, yet did as he was told as he parked the car to one side of the road. "Now what."

He saw Yako tossing his plastic-bagged shirt on the back seat, and he saw her pulling out a scarf from her bag and wrapped it around his neck, patting the ends of it on his still damp hair and face. She buttoned the first three buttons of her favorite brown sheepskin coat that was too small for him, and she kissed him on the cheek with a smile. "That should be fine for now until we get home."

Neuro looked at his awkwardly coat clad self, and a lopsided smile graced his lips, "What's with this getup." Yet even so, he placed a quick kiss on her lips—an unsaid way of him saying thanks, she mused.

And they drove their way back home.

"I didn't get to buy us any snacks this time."

"Neuro, it's fine. Besides, I know you couldn't do it because of this rainfall. I told you earlier to bring an umbrella, but you didn't."

"Because it's a nuisance."

"And look what happened now."

"At least I got you to take care of me in your own way."

Yako didn't say anything, but Neuro could tell from her wide smile that she felt praised.

That alone made Neuro's sour mood lift by a hundred times.

* * *

><p>"—and you two need to take care of your health even more now that it's the rainy season."<p>

"Yes, we know, Mother. But that rain earlier was too much and—"

A large towel was draped over Yako's shoulders, and she felt Neuro's hands working their way to her head, massaging her with the towel that was fluffing out her hair.

The two were drenched by the time they had gotten out of the car and had ran to the porch—it had been a short distance, but there was too much rainfall today—

—and now, Neuro was reaping the consequences.

"Achoo!"

Haruka hissed and quickly got some medicine along with a pot of green tea for her daughter and Neuro. The two were sitting huddled in the couch, now wrapped up with towels as they drank their tea and ate their soup.

Once finished, Yako got up and jogged towards the stairs. "I'll take a bath!" she hollered, and she heard a grunt from Neuro in reply.

He went on and washed the dishes, grumbling something about leaving the kitchen work to him. When asked by Seiichi if he was feeling fine, Neuro smiled and gave him an affirmative.

"It's all thanks to Mother's care, Father!" he gleefully said, despite his nose now looking a bit red from sneezing.

* * *

><p>"Neuro, the rain won't stop." Yako gazed worriedly at the dark clouds and roaring skies of gray. It was almost midnight, and she still couldn't sleep as the rain now pelted angry drops at the window, blurring everything within seconds.<p>

"Tomorrow's Saturday. What are you whining about?" he grumbled on the pillow. Though, for Neuro himself, he couldn't sleep because of the thunder clapping every now and then.

Lightning flashed from the sky, and for a split second, Yako could see the outline of the dark maroon curtains quite clearly. "I can't sleep," she muttered quite blankly.

"Try to sleep."

"I can't if this storm is crashing down."

Neuro sighed and looked at the digital clock—its neon lights glowed eleven fifty. He felt Yako twitch, and giving in, Neuro rolled over to her side, trapping her beneath his one-armed embrace as he inched closer to her frame.

"Better?" he mumbled to her ear, and Yako nodded and scooted her back even closer to his torso, basking in the warmth he provided on her chilly back.

Within minutes, Yako was fast asleep, and Neuro finally heaved a sigh, smiling as he nuzzled his nose on her hair, mumbling her name when he entwined his hand on hers.

And when his green eyes slowly drifted to slumber, he was certain he heard Yako mumbling Neuro's name.

They fell asleep in each other's arms, as was their norm.

On their fingers, their rings twinkled in the lightning's flash.

* * *

><p>Shizuka had been staring at the gaudy thing for a while, its sparkling stones winking at her questioning eyes.<p>

The lecture for the day seemed to buzz through her ears as she stared at the ring that was snuggled on a long and slim finger of one Nougami Neuro. The ring lightly bobbed with each move of his hand as he wrote on his notes.

She wondered how he got to have such a pretty thing. Was it bought? An heirloom? A gift from someone?

_But sempai told me it's an engagement ring..._

"―ki!"

_I didn't see her wearing her ring that day. Or maybe I just didn't look at her close enough._

"―roki!"

_What does that girl have that he puts all his attention on her with such affection?_

A book slammed on her desk.

Shizuka jolted and faced the board.

"Dammit, Todoroki! If you're not interested in my class, you may withdraw!"

All eyes then focused on the now pale and wide-eyed Shizuka, and she hurriedly bowed and apologized in her seat.

From her left, she could feel a pair of green eyes looking at her apathetically with a dismissive snort.

She suddenly felt ashamed.

* * *

><p>"Um, Nougami-<em>san?<em> May I borrow your notes?" A timid-looking Shizuka tottered behind Neuro, who was currently occupied with reading a book about the human psychology as he walked towards the library.

"What for?" he asked, all the while, his eyes never left the pages of his book. "And how did you find me?" he asked, and this time, their eyes met.

Shizuka looked away, pursing her lips as she watched a young couple pass them by. "I saw you writing everything earlier and I didn't manage to write down everything and―um. You always hang out here, so I figured you might be here and―" she knew she was now rambling, and his bored expression did really made her feel uneasy.

"I already lent my notes to another classmate earlier, so―I don't have it." A blatant lie.

Shizuka slowly nodded her head, her eyes downcast as she bit her lip, "Oh. Well," she looked at him once more, her demeanor now a bit bolder than a few seconds ago, "could you tell me anything about the lecture right before it ended earlier? I―kind of spaced out, you see." She shifted awkwardly on her pumps, casting him a coy smile.

"Well, you could have managed to copy everything if you didn't space out earlier like a creepy junkie. You looked like a creep―eyeing me like I'm your next meal."

Her mouth fell agape.

_What_.

Before she even had the chance to splutter out a decent response, Neuro's phone rang out the sound of a meowing kitten.

Flashing her a lopsided smirk, Neuro walked away and picked up his phone―

―and all the while, Shizuka paled as she looked at his retreating back.

* * *

><p>Exactly three forty-five in the afternoon, Neuro exited the library with a smile as he hung up his phone and eyed the book in his hands―a book about foods and culture of Europe. Yako will definitely love this, he mused with a grin.<p>

Once reaching the bottom of the stairs, he was approached by an irate and stomping Shizuka.

Neuro's smile faded immediately. "What."

"That was rude," she said, her brows furrowed as she glared at him, "I wasn't acting like a creep!"

He huffed, and raised an eyebrow at her, his expression mocking, "Oh? And I suppose seeing you here sitting on that bench since I left and waiting for me the whole time I was in there was not a creepy act? Get a hold of yourself. Go bother someone else." And with that, he left―

―yet her voice and the clacking of her heels still echoed loud through the grounds.

And he heard a dull thud.

He turned around, partly curious―

―and Neuro saw Shizuka sprawled face first on the concrete, one of her black pumps completely off her foot, and the contents of her bag scattered all around her.

He snorted.

* * *

><p>Four forty in the afternoon, and there was still no Neuro to pick Yako up. He usually picked her up around four ten.<p>

He was 15 minutes late.

He had never been late. He had always been punctual about meeting up Yako exactly as he said.

Until now.

She bit her lip as she idly stood by her school gates, watching for any sign of a familiar minivan that was manically speeding down the road.

A few more minutes passed, and there was still no sign of the blond's vehicle.

Yako glanced at her watch once more―it was now four forty-five, and she was growing anxious by the second.

She had called him half an hour before telling him that she would be off early as there was only a quiz for last period. _He said he'd be here right away. Where is he? Did something happen to him?_

Another five minutes passed.

Shuffling for her phone and sending him another text―_where are you?_―Yako opted to call him instead, and when his phone rang, a breathless-sounding Neuro picked up.

"_I'll be there in twenty._"

"Why didn't you call or text me? I was getting worried and―where are you?"

In the background, Yako could hear the voice of another man, though it was faint.

"_I have my hands full right now. I'll be there before you know it._"

"Why are you panting?" She couldn't help herself from asking too much. It wasn't like him at all.

"_I have my hands full right now, Yako. I'll talk to you when I get there―_"

And all of a sudden, a wail of a woman screeched through Yako's unprepared ears, and she flinched.

"_Give it to me! I want it! I―ah! I want a bigger one! Nougami-san, I want it now!_" the voice said.

Yako's expression suddenly turned cold as she eyed a random couple passing her by. "Neuro. What is that yelling in there? Where are you?"

There was static in the background, followed by the voice of the other man from earlier.

"_This is going to sting! Are you sure you want the bigger one? Your lipstick will smear!_" it said.

Yako's mind reeled in what she was hearing. _No. Don't let your mind go down the gutter―_

More static was heard, and she could clearly hear Neuro shouting in the background.

"_Get it yourself! Pick the bigger one and suck on it!_"

_Suck on what? _She suddenly stopped hearing his voice. "Hello? Hello? Neuro, are you there? Who are you talking to? Hello? ...Damn. Battery died!"

She gripped her phone with much force than necessary, glaring at the little thing with all the anger she could muster. With a low growl and clenching teeth, she yelled out loud at her phone.

"Fine! I'm taking the damn train, you prick! I'm not going to wait for you for another half hour and I'm already hungry! And you didn't even answer my question, you stupid asshole! All I asked was where you are, you jerk!"

And she angrily stormed off from the gates as she crudely pocketed her phone in her skirt, stomping and crushing her booted foot on a soda can lying on the path where she walked, leaving behind a trail of people looking at her with wide eyes.

* * *

><p>Loud squealing and yelling was heard from the infirmary in Soudai.<p>

"That hurts, Higuchi-_kun!_"

"Quit whining, _sempai_. This bandage will stop the bleeding for the meantime. Your shoes are unusable so borrow some slippers from the nurse."

Leaning on the wall, Neuro huffed as he looked at the nuisance in front of him. Shizuka had been squealing―_like a pig_―as Yuuya and the school nurse applied disinfectant on her forehead and knees. The troublesome klutz had tripped over her stupid heels earlier, and she was now paying the consequences for trying to run in wedges.

And right now, a large white cloth was clamped in between her clenched teeth, to make sure that she wouldn't bite her tongue.

Her lipstick smeared on the scruffy cloth as she cried away the pain. A rather large part of the skin on her right knee had been scraped and had been bleeding nonstop, and she had a large scratch on her forehead.

Neuro looked at the clock. It was five o'clock.

He mentally cursed, and he dialed Yako's phone once more―

"_The number you dialed is either unattended or out of coverage area―_"

He flicked his phone shut and glared at the still squealing Shizuka.

"Give me back the book, you swine. I have to pick her up."

Shizuka struggled to mutter something, but instead, she shook her head fervently, droplets of sweat running down her brow as she clutched a book tightly in her hands. Yuuya, on the other hand, opted not to comment on the insult thrown at the injured woman. He knew better than to retort to an irate Neuro.

Neuro tried not to throw the pair of tongs on the nearby table right between her eyes.

Earlier, when a passing Yuuya had happened to see Shizuka sprawled on the concrete, and had observed Neuro just idly standing a few meters away from her―not really helping―Yuuya made it a task to coax Neuro into helping the "fallen lass", as he had said.

Yuuya had promised Neuro that he wouldn't bother him and utter any reference about Yako for the rest of the week.

Begrudgingly, Neuro had acquiesced.

And when the two men had held up Shizuka, she had instinctively grabbed onto the book that Neuro was holding.

She refused to give it back to him until he had accompanied her to the infirmary and until she was patched up.

Neuro had almost let go of her arm that had been draped around his shoulder, but a quick glance from Yuuya refrained him from doing so.

And so he ended up being with the two of the most annoying people in Neuro's current life.

Another glance at the clock. Five ten.

Neuro growled. _She's going to be mad, I'm sure of it._

* * *

><p>Yako was ignoring Neuro the whole time since he arrived at the Katsuragi residence.<p>

For once, dinner for tonight consisted of a tense silence and cold shoulder treatment.

Haruka and Seiichi sensed that something was wrong between their daughter and their future son-in-law.

Earlier, Yako had returned home without Neuro, for once―it was the first time that happened. She hadn't even muttered her usual cheerful greeting of "I'm home!" earlier, and had gone straight to the bathroom to take a quick shower.

Haruka had assumed it was just her daughter's monthly woes, but after hearing Yako had muttered "stupid Neuro and his stupid vagueness" as she passed by the open door of Yako's room, Haruka knew it wasn't because of a trifle thing.

Neuro had come home at six o'clock, with four plastic bags filled with food to the brim―all for Yako.

Yet no word had been exchanged between the young couple, as Miwako had idly observed when she passed by Yako's room.

And now the pantry was full of untouched food―Neuro had made it a task to reserve half for the rest of the household, and half for Yako alone, as her appetite was bigger.

Yako had ignored it all, though.

"Yako, could you please pass me the salt?" Neuro asked, yet Yako kept on eating her food—curry and rice—with her back straight and her face stone cold, as though she heard nothing at all, even if he was sitting right next to her.

"Yako? Pass me the salt," Neuro tried again, but still was completely ignored.

Seiichi, seeing the awkward tension, cleared his throat and stood to reach out for the salt container and handed it to Neuro. "Here you go, son," and he sat down again.

Neuro mumbled a silent thanks and casted Yako a sidelong glance, all the while, Yako didn't spare him a look.

* * *

><p>It was past one o'clock. All was silent in the neighborhood, and everyone was either preparing to sleep or was already tucked in their beds, sleeping everything away.<p>

Except for one green-eyed man that was tossing and turning on the bed for the past hour.

Yako was curled away from Neuro, her back facing him as she slept.

He sighed, and before he knew it, he was curled against her back, a long arm and leg draped over her frame.

"I already explained myself to you earlier, at least―don't deny me of the thing that keeps me sane the most," and he pressed himself flush against her back, kissing her head softly as he nuzzled his forehead on her nape. "I don't like what I'm feeling right now," he mumbled.

He didn't know if Yako was awake or not, if she heard him or not, but unbeknownst to him, Yako mouthed his name.

In the dead of the night, when she knew that Neuro had fallen deeply asleep, Yako turned over to his side, and snuggled up to him with a wistful sigh.

* * *

><p>Neuro knew that he had set the alarm last night, he never once forgot to remember such a simple yet important task, after all.<p>

Though it seemed that someone turned off the alarm at some point.

It wasn't Yako, that much he knew. But—

—but maybe it _was_ Yako?

_What if she purposely turned off the alarm so she could get back at me for what I did yesterday? I didn't pick her up yesterday—and she actually managed to get home alive in one piece, thank goodness—so now she's getting back at me by turning off the alarm so I couldn't get to my first two classes!_

He craned his neck and looked at his fiancée, and he didn't know if she was still sleeping or just pretending to be asleep. Though judging from her slightly open mouth and muttering of food, he concluded that she was, in fact, asleep.

Well, what if she woke up earlier to turn off the alarm and purposely let herself drift off to sleep once more?

_It's plausible_.

He frowned, and just as he was about to flick her nose to wake her up and prove that all his assumptions were right, Neuro was stopped by a pair of arms winding around his own.

Yako unconsciously snuggled her cheek on his left shoulder, a goofy smile plastered upon her face as she barely mumbled Neuro's name.

He stopped thinking of the impossible and over-the-top conclusions altogether, and simply looked at her innocent face.

He smoothed out her rumpled hair instead, and checked the clock once more.

_It's past nine already... I'm too lazy now_.

Letting his eyes fall closed, he held Yako's hand, and tried to sleep with a small smile.

Shortly, his eyes snapped open once more, realizing what day it was, and he let out a deep sigh of relief as he grinned and chuckled.

* * *

><p>Noon—and Yako jolted awake as she almost ripped open the heavy curtains on her window and squinted as bright light showered her eyes. She was breathless as she jumped back on the bed and promptly shook Neuro awake.<p>

"It's noon, idiot! We missed class! Neuro, wake up!" Now, she was still mad at him for yesterday, but not as madly mad as she was yesterday—

—which was a good thing, Yako supposed.

She patted him quickly on the shoulder, almost whining, and when Neuro garbled out a gruff and incoherent reply, Yako threw a fit once more.

"Geez! Just stay in bed the whole day then, dummy!" and she stepped over his still grumbling form and hopped out of the bed, though right before she could even open the door, a yawning Neuro lazily yelled out.

"It's a holiday today, stupid. It's the ninth."

At this, Yako stopped and turned at his still unkempt, lazy self (for today). "The ninth—ah! It's the Crown Prince's marriage!"

"So you're brain cell found a worthy thought today," he gruffly mumbled on the pillow. In turn, Yako puffed her cheeks and stuck up her nose with a huff.

"I'm still mad at you, you know. Don't start smart with me."

He sighed and faced her with a lazy yawn. _She simply wouldn't let go of it so easily, would she?_ "I already explained myself to you. That voyeur and that bimbo from yesterday had something that I couldn't refuse. And did you know how worried I was when I saw didn't see you at the gates yesterday?" He sat up, his hair still tousled and his voice still gruff, "I circled your whole school trying to search for you because your phone was unattended and if it weren't for your mother calling me that you had arrived safe at home, I would have still be in your school until now—probably wrecking havoc on the people to tell me where you went off to!"

Yako was silent, and she looked away from him, biting her inner cheek as she tried not to cry.

It was for a split second, but he knew what that vague gesture meant. So he did what he had to do—

—he threw a pillow to her face.

"Oompf—! What was that for, you heartless jerk!"

"You were about to cry," he gleefully said with a blank smile.

She pouted, and she threw the pillow back to his blankly smiling face.

"I thought you were screwing with another girl yesterday, you know!"

"And why, pray tell, made you think that I would do that?" His tone was serious now, his brows knotted as he watched Yako sit hesitantly on his lap. It had always been this way, whenever they would have a serious fight—on rare occasions, thankfully—either of them would move closer to the point of skin-on-skin contact, just so they would be more inclined to say what things bothered them about the other in a calm manner.

Needless to say, their method always worked.

Her lips jutted out, averting his unreadable gaze, "I thought I heard inappropriate things."

"What inappropriate things?" He looked quite perplexed, not really following what his fiancée was talking about. When she didn't respond immediately, he lightly touched her elbow, silently urging her to continue.

Yako's ears went red as she scrunched her chin, gulping as she mustered a mumble. "I thought you—well—because I heard someone on the other line yesterday and she was yelling something about—"

Her not-so-pure spoken thoughts were suddenly cut off by a loud laugh and a tight hug from Neuro, and he laid back on the bed, patting her head as he grinned, and realization had dawned on him. "Such a dirty mind you have, kitten! I was yelling about her biting on a cloth to stop her senseless wailing. Four Eyes was talking about her lip paint getting smudged. Heh—you were thinking of me doing a threesome with a woman other than you? Why would I even want to share with anyone what I consider mine?"

She burrowed her beet red face on his shirt, grumbling and shaking her head repeatedly as her tiny fists wrinkled the fabric.

Neuro chuckled, and made her look at him with a kiss on top of her head. Green eyes locked with brown, the other looking quite amused while the other looked quite humiliated. "Silly kitty. I'm not into threesome. I'm more into binding you and dominating over you," he sharply moved her face close to his, and a hot pair of lips hovered over her scarlet-hued ear, whispering huskily. "You must be thinking something about food, aren't you? What if—heh—what if I combine food for a future spanking session for you? Would you rather have oil on you—castor, olive, coconut, perhaps? Or would you rather have some fruits on you—some watermelon pulp and juice, maybe? You can get to eat while I fondle and spank you senseless—what do you think?"

The tables were turned now—gone was the previous rush of anger—and Yako, who was already becoming redder on the neck and face, had gotten breathless and shaky, fists now clenched and unclenched on his shirt, eyelids fluttering close as he spoke in a deep, sultry tone.

"Or we could try something else... How about some intimate sugar scrub on you? Exfoliates your skin, and is edible, too." He was broadly grinning now, liking the way her whole frame convulsed as he whispered ideas upon ideas of imaginative and suggestive things in her ear. He was thinking what great uses the book he had borrowed from yesterday would bring to his sinful mind, and the next thing he knew, he could feel his pants slowly getting wet as she panted hotly on his neck.

"You came just from that? My, you're such a dirty girl, Yako," he whispered, even huskier on purpose when he uttered her name, pressing his sinful lips closer to her lobe as he deeply moaned—

—and just like that, Yako's body rattled involuntarily as she let out release upon release of a stream of liquid fire through her clothes, damping both of them with wetness in mere seconds.

Neuro affectionately patted her head and kissed her brow when she had calmed down. He might not say it to her, but he loved feeling her thundering heartbeat against his hammering chest—it soothed and calmed him down greatly. "So adorable."

Yako, still in her hazy state of mind, gasped. _He called me adorable_—

Spidery lashes fluttered against her claret cheek, making her smile.

* * *

><p>Upon taking a quick look around the house, and upon discovering a note tucked on one of the small magnets on the fridge—written by her mother that she and Miwako had gone out to Ginza to buy some kitchen tools—Yako quickly ran back to her room and yanked down her panties, uncaring for the wide-eyed stare from Neuro who was still lying on the bed. "I need to wash my clothes. And yours. They're all out. Father's out with his friends from the architecture department and Mother's going to the hardware store again for kitchen stuff," she explained curtly as she deftly unbuttoned her shirt and went over to an amused Neuro to pull down his stained pants.<p>

"My, you can't even wait on our wedding day. You want to do it now in your own parents' home? Tsk, tsk."

"Gah—stop teasing me! I need to wash them before they see the mess I made! I need the sheets, too—Neuro, move—hah—Neuro, you're not helping at all!"

"It's your fault. You can't control your release," he said lightheartedly, letting Yako tug down his baggy pants, leaving him in his midnight blue boxers and opened shirt, showing all of the ten thin streaks of carnation pink kissing down his torso, courtesy of Yako's newly-trimmed nails. "Though I don't really mind. You can come on my crotch all day as you please. Be my honored guest. In fact, I'll let you come all over me. On my face or in my mouth, if you could. I love that. Drench me in you."

The way he said those sinfully vulgar words set her whole face aflame.

* * *

><p>On the fifth of April, it was the start of Neuro's senior year in Soudai. Yuuya had already graduated—something Neuro was extremely happy about (and had always been the highlight of his school day since then). Students who couldn't keep up with studying dropped one by one like flies as time passed by, yet the one who Neuro wanted to drop out the most was—<p>

"Nougami-_kun!_"

—Todoroki Shizuka.

Neuro mentally sighed, and he didn't stop to wait for her. He didn't know when she had started calling him "_Nougami-kun_"—he was pretty sure he didn't allow her to call him as such ever since she forced herself on him.

When he could still hear her calling his name in that overly cringing manner, he walked in long strides, and quickly turned right, all the way to the men's room. He slammed the door shut and heaved a sigh of relief.

"Some nuisance prowling down the halls," Neuro curtly explained to a man curiously looking at him from a urinal. The man merely nodded in understanding.

* * *

><p>"Yuka-<em>san<em>, do you have homework on the Indonesian language? I haven't finished mine yet and I still have two more to do—Malaysian and Filipino! Our break will be over in an hour and I haven't finished half—"

"Whoa. Calm down, Nougami. Wait, let me get it for you—"

"Yuka-_san_, I'm not married to my fiancé yet. Yako is just fine."

"Psh. You two will be chained to each other's wrists later on so get used to me calling you by his name. It's one of the warnings that you can give to other women who have been eyeing him—he's not the average Japanese man, you know."

Yako turned redder than the ketchup she was putting on her hamburger.

She was already on her third year in Toudai, still hanging on to her dream of mastering every language in the world—German, in particular.

Yako had been in Toudai for three years—in the School of International and Area Studies, and had taken up a major in International Communication and Interpreting.

And she loved every moment of it.

Her phone rang—to the tune of a puppy whining—and she answered it immediately, "Neuro, call me later. I need to finish this paper and—"

"_I'm coming over there right now._"

Yako looked at Yuka, who was sitting in front of her, shrugging while mouthing a vague, "I don't mind at all" at Yako.

The brown-eyed girl nodded, "Fine. You can come over. But I only have an hour left before class starts again and—"

"_You ordered too much food again. How many times must I tell you not to put all the ketchup on your burger?_"

Yako pouted, and wordlessly looked behind her, not surprised to see Neuro standing behind her with a little smile. She hung up her phone. "Sheesh. Tell me beforehand if you want to come over to my school—you know my schedule by heart and—gyah!"

Two pieces of fries were suddenly stuck up inside Yako's nostrils, courtesy of a blankly smiling Neuro.

"Yo, Katsuragi's husband," Yuka stiffly greeted with a smarmy smile.

"Hello, Eshiya-_san_. Good to see you acknowledging my betrothal to your inept little friend here! Though I must admit, she's treating me quite nicely, and I'm doing the same for her in return."

A hand was weakly slapping on Neuro's arm, and he was ignoring Yako's flailing in his hold.

He was making her chow the burger down to her throat in one go.

Yuka was already used to seeing them acting like a couple of kids teasing on a playground.

Green eyes slid on the papers neatly arranged on the table, and he broadly smiled.

"So. How may I help you two today?"

* * *

><p>Liquor flowed freely on the glasses as laughter boomed and roared. Yukinori had set aside time for his friends on a nice, breezy night in May. A cozy pub that was owned by his older brother was closed down for the night—as the younger Hayasaka had rented out the whole place.<p>

Everything had to be perfect.

The couches were comfortable. The company was in top shape. Drinks of preference were poured, food was served continuously—Yukinori blamed it on the gluttonous couple, not that he would tell them that—and the atmosphere was just right.

Plus, they even have some additional members for the night. College acquaintances, as Neuro had once called them as.

Yako and Neuro had already chowed down more than half of the food the pub provided within an hour—and only then that Yukinori brought out more food, because he knew that it would come to this.

Kanae and Mutsuki chatted along for old time's sake, and had introduced their college friends to the rest of the group. Aya, surprisingly, was with them, as goaded by Shinobu—and Neuro was quick to drop the bomb on little Mutsuki that she should keep an eye on the tall blonde.

Mutsuki had merely smiled and showed Neuro the tip of a fairly large stiletto knife hidden beneath one of her favorite elbow-length gloves, instead.

Shinobu, who had been eavesdropping nearby, managed to take a quick glance at the knife, and he gulped and drank down a whole bottle of vodka for his nerves.

Yako talked with Yuka, who had brought along an eccentric man—and Neuro happened to have the same eccentric tastes as the man himself.

Tooru Ikeya, he called himself. A proud owner of a furniture shop and a self-renowned interior designer—

—along with a whole plethora of strangeness his character seemed to have—an odd liking of treating women like furniture and treating furniture like women. As odd as he was—he seemed to have a fixation on rubbing his stubble every now and then—he had a keen sense of style when it came to first-class interior designs, as he showed some of his magazines to Yako and Aya.

Though, a jovial Neuro had yet to stop giving Tooru some questionable "things of value"—handcuffs, chains, crop whips and gags—it made Yuka feel sick, and Aya suddenly felt her face go aflame, yet Yako merely shrugged, as she was already too used to it.

Another person who seemed to make the atmosphere lively was another foreigner—an American—and he was in the same class as Yako last semester. A man with flaxen blond hair, a long, sharp nose and narrow blue eyes, David Rice was an exchange student from the States who had a penchant for anything that involved Japan. He still had to tweak a bit of his Japanese, though—to make his Japanese sound as manly as his body, as Shinobu commented.

Yuka and Shinobu talked for a bit of light conversation at first, but when he unintentionally burped vodka breath on Yuka's face, the poor man promptly received a fist to the nose.

They are long lost siblings, Yako and Kanae idly thought.

A giggling Mutsuki, for once, decided to approach a quietly blinking Aya, and opted to have a civil chat with her. Kanae and Yako kept a close watch on their little friend, though—Mutsuki could be cunningly deceiving if she wanted to be.

David exchanged guffaws with Yukinori, as another round of beers was poured on their steins. Every now and then, Yukinori's eyes would slide towards a laughing Kanae's direction.

Everything had to be perfect.

Yukinori gave a friendly pat on David's shoulder, and the platinum-haired man cleared his throat and stood up.

"Yo, all! Hush down for a moment, will ya? I—uh—have something to say."

Everyone in the room hushed, including the bartenders standing by, save for a grumbling Shinobu who had somehow ended up face first on the floor. Yukinori ignored him, and flashed Kanae a cocky grin instead.

He measured his steps as he walked towards the auburn-haired girl. One, two, three. And he breathed in deeply, his grin now completely gone—it being replaced by a serious face as he knelt down in front of her on one knee.

The sudden look of shock crossed Kanae's face for just a fleeting moment, and Yukinori gulped at that expression, nervousness suddenly evident in his façade as he looked her in the eye.

"Kanae," he started, gulping once more as he felt his palms starting to sweat. He let out a slow breath and tried to calm down his inner turmoil—and he took her hand. "Kanae," he started once more, and he produced a ring from the sleeve of his thin coat—

"Will you marry me?"

And just like that, Kagohara Kanae's ocher eyes widened as the world around them suddenly stopped.

* * *

><p>A week after their night-out with friends, things seemed to be getting far too quick—for Kanae, that is.<p>

"I really think this isn't the right time," said Kanae on the phone. Yako was on the other line, making dinner with Neuro, apparently. "I mean, I want to finish my modeling first before I get married and—"

"_Kanae, he didn't say anything about marriage yet. It just means that he's committed himself to you, and wants to let you know that he sees only you, wait... Hold a sec—Neuro, that's sugar, not salt—anyway, quit your flings with other guys already—_"

"I already did a long time ago since we started college. Yuki knows of my flings—and I know all of his—but we still kept on dating and... I'm not sure if we're taking our pace too fast or too slow," she sighed, and plopped back on her bed. The teddy bear that Kanae always had toppled on her arm, and she hugged it. "Yako, it's times like these that I think you found the best fiancé in the world. I mean—he always knows what you need and want, and you always know what he needs and wants and... I wish—I wish I knew what Yuki thinks about the whole thing."

The sound of porcelain—_probably cups and bowls_—echoed on the other line, and Kanae barely heard Neuro speaking about putting onions on Yako's nose. And Kanae giggled. Really, the man could be such a tease at times.

"_Kanae, the best thing you can do is to talk things over with Yukinori-san. It may sound scary at first, but you'll never know if you try. Always talk to him about things—your thoughts and your worries and concerns about stuff—and the next thing you'll know, you two could already read each other's minds with just a glance. Remember, you already accepted his proposal!_"

Kanae smiled—her best friend knew what she was talking about, for Yako herself experienced it with Neuro too many times to count—and she heard Yako laugh, along with a light chuckle from Neuro.

_He's probably standing behind her if I could hear his chuckle in my ear. Damn that sexy voice…!_

"Yeah—you're probably right," Kanae mumbled with a goofy smile, "I'm taking advice from the girl who had always been with the guy that loves her since they were seven. And that girl always tries to endure his teasing moments, yet still stays with him time and time again."

She could hear Yako's lilting laugh from the other line, and somehow, she could sense that her best friend was blushing, and those honey-brown eyes were probably shining in pure bliss. "_Kanae, you say the most flattering things sometimes!_" she heard her say.

* * *

><p>"Women are weird. Why should she cry when he proposed? I didn't see you bawling when I proposed to you."<p>

Yako laughed as she mixed the bowl of egg yolks, "Neuro. She cried in joy! And besides, I think this is a great time for them to spend some time with each other. Kanae told me she hadn't seen Yukinori-_san_ much since they started college. He sure knows what he's doing."

"He wants his territory marked."

"Is that how you see it?"

"Of course. I see you as my territory. My mark. My abode. My threshold. My haven. Is that bad?"

Yako could only smile at the look of innocence on his face. And that bit of salt on his cheek was making him look even more innocent. She shook her head with a bashful smile, "No, it's not bad at all."

* * *

><p>Chapter 28 will be written as soon as possible. Please do review~ :D It makes me happeh and update faster. :3<p> 


	28. Amor

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Eight: Amor<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Filum will end at Chapter 30 (or 35), and will have an epilogue after that. So I just want to say thanks to the readers who have put this fic on their favorites and alerts list and also to those who have faithfully reviewed wholeheartedly. After this, I think I will make another oneshot of MTNN, still based on the "Dulcis" series, of course. :3

* * *

><p>August brought the last month of summer.<p>

Sitting on top of a wide, laid-out linen, a smiling Yako happily observed the white petals of the cherry blossoms being showered on the people beneath—its snow-white flakes sprinkling on top of the people's heads, some falling softly on the dewy grass, and some being swayed by the gentle wind.

Sitting not from afar, Yako's caramel eyes spotted a child—a little girl—tottering over to her mother with tiny, outstretched arms. Yako smiled, and she glanced to where Neuro was, sitting cross-legged in front of her without a care in the world as he drink a cup of sake.

A stray petal fell on his drink, and he frowned as he stared at the little thing rippling on the liquid. And Yako giggled.

"It's your last summer holiday, Neuro! Liven up a bit and forgive the petal!"

Yet the man merely jutted out his lower lip, and emerald orbs glared at the innocent petal. "I am trying to liven it up. This flower keeps on falling on my food and drink and it's making me feel irritated."

His fiancée giggled once more, and it was a chiming sound that reverberated in his ears, and he looked up, and saw an aura of softness around Yako—her wide, bright smile that made her visage look much carefree and more youthful, her wheat-hued hair being tousled by the wind, a stray petal or two falling on her locks and her sakura tea, and her dainty fingers trying to tame those mussed up tresses—

—and he burned that image of hers in his mind, and his eyes softened upon seeing her trying to wipe away a stray speck of dust that had fallen on her eye. Bitty knuckles gently nudged on the sensitive sclera, and it vaguely reminded Neuro of a cat trying to groom its ears.

A small smile graced his thin lips as another stray petal kissed her pale skin—

The hush of the wind and the rustling of the trees and the dancing of the petals echoed all around, gently ruffling everything in its wake—and when forest green eyes locked with amber, an unspoken thought escaped his lips just as the wordless melody of nature played by.

"_I wonder if our future child will inherit your smile…_"

And his words fell on deaf ears, muted by the ever playful wind kissing their skin, and when nature's song died down to its mellow pace of a cool summer breeze, Yako was the first to speak, her eyes wide and round and her head slightly tilted to one side as she blinked.

"Neuro, did you say something? I saw your lips move."

And in response, Neuro stifled a smile, and he placed a fallen blossom on her button nose, patting it in place with his middle finger right before he kissed her brow.

* * *

><p>"Yako, answer this for me, could you? I only need one more random uni student to complete the survey."<p>

"For your thesis?"

He nodded, though he made no eye contact, and he typed away on the keyboard on Yako's laptop, fixing little errors here and there in his written document.

Yako shrugged, and wordlessly took the proffered two-page survey as she plopped down on her bed. A few moments passed, and Neuro heard a mumbled sound from behind him, and he smiled when he heard her let out a loud "Aha!" just as he heard the sound of a click of a pen. And he heard the familiar sounds of pen scratching on paper.

"Your topic is about crime and injustice, I see. And it's a nice one at that."

Neuro merely grinned at the screen in front of him.

* * *

><p>Once confetti had been showered and graduation caps were tossed in the air with much cries of joy, Neuro wasted no time in briskly walking over to the back of the spacious hall, his long arms outstretched as he firmly hugged Yako's family—and his ever faithful caretaker, Zera.<p>

"Yako, Yako! I graduated!" and Neuro squeezed her tight in his arms, lifting up her form as he kissed her brow―and she squealed with much joy for him.

It was rare that Yako got to see Neuro so excited. In fact, right now he reminded her of an overjoyed child that was proud of his achievement―

Some odd but amused looks were sent their way, though it was expected, as today was a day to be exuberant and carefree.

And for the first time in their lives, Haruka and Seiichi finally saw Neuro happily kissing their daughter on the lips.

A pair of knowing smiles were exchanged between the Katsuragi couple.

* * *

><p>"Only a week after graduation, and you're already being called over by five companies? Seriously, Neuro?"<p>

"What? You don't want it?"

Yako laughed, and took a forkful of her carbonara―from a distance, they could hear the mellow sound of a cello from the little stage in the Italian restaurant they were eating in. The food, as expected, was really superb.

"I just find it really amazing―your charm works as always!" And she pecked his cheek, quickly giggling and apologizing as she saw a bit of sauce caught on said cheek, and she wiped it off with a napkin.

Neuro chuckled, his smile wide and proud as he, too, pecked her cheek. His breath smelled like fresh Mediterranean herbs on her skin, and Yako couldn't help but smile even more.

"'Charm', eh? So you mean to say that I have―uhrm―_manly_ charms?"

Yako grinned, and a lively laugh escaped her coral-hued lips. "Would you rather let me say "wiles" instead?"

Neuro guffawed, and he kissed her lips, "You and your smart mouth, piggy." Forest green eyes looked approvingly at her and her radiance. Yako had been looking more and more radiant lately, and he couldn't help but be happy for that. Her nightmares were also getting less and less frequent as time passed by, and that lifted a huge burden from his chest―not that he would express that to her.

After he had graduated, Yako had spent much time with him―for they both knew that once Neuro had found a (stable) job, their time spent together would lessen, for sure―

―not that Neuro would let that happen, of course. Yako had always been his personal source of comfort and calm―

"I love you, louse," he whispered, and the words slipped from his mouth before he knew it. He was sure his voice was low enough for only him to hear―

"Did I just hear you say... you love me...?"

The sound of the mellow music from the stage had died down, and Neuro pursed his lips and merely coughed as green eyes looked away from amused brown ones. Muttered gibberish slithered from his thin lips―_Stop saying such things_―

Yako only grinned―those hands of his could never conceal the mad blush betraying his actions.

* * *

><p>It was already Yako's fourth and final year in college, and things have been going well for her, luckily―<p>

―though she had to lengthen her patience for the times she lost with Neuro.

As Kanae had said to Yako time and again, "_It's not like the two of you aren't sleeping in the same bed!_"

Yako, even she had been given advice from her best friend, still felt deflated at some times.

Neuro's job as a detective in Tokyo Metropolitan Police was slowly robbing the times they should've spent together.

So when he had received a day off, Neuro wasn't surprised to find Yako literally tackling him with much enthusiasm when he returned home that day.

"You're back!" she exclaimed, smiling and nuzzling his neck as she spoke. "I called Jun-_sensei_ earlier to ask if you were there and he said you already went home so I called you but you didn't answer."

"I was at a meeting for the next case," he replied coolly, and he kissed her lips and hugged her close. "Did you take the train? Was your friend with you?"

"Of course, silly. Yuka-_san_ accompanied me back here. She said she had to go meet up with Ikeya-_san_ at his shop_._"

He hummed and patted her head as he removed his shoes, and they walked towards the kitchen, "I see those two are still together―ah. Mother, Father! I'm home!"

Haruka was the first to greet him with a smile and a quick, "Welcome home!" while Seiichi merely nodded and smiled, as his mouth was currently filled with onigiri—made by Miwako, Neuro hoped.

Neuro grinned as he looked at the family that he was soon to be legally a part of, and his eyes slid to a smiling Yako that was now gulping down a bottle of canned coffee from the fridge.

He nodded to himself, and upon seeing that Haruka was―_geh_―"cooking"―he quickly gulped and hastily excused himself and went away.

* * *

><p>After nonchalantly telling Yako that he had bought her another pair of see-through undies—something that vehemently scared her of wearing it outside of the house—Neuro was amused to see her wine-colored face and neck as he plopped down on her bed with a carefree laugh.<p>

"It was on sale today, so I thought, 'Why not?' It's skin-toned, too. With those little lacy embroidery on the edges that you like so much."

"B-but how did you even—how did you—"

"How did I buy it, you ask? Simple. I took it from the shelf and paid it on the cash register. The lady there assumed I was buying it for 'my wife'. I didn't dare correct her assumptions. Isn't that nice of me? If you don't like it, then would you rather have the crotchless and cupless types?"

"I-idiot!"

"Heh... ah. Yako, come here," he commanded, beckoning her with a middle finger and that ever maddening smile.

She did as she was told, and she straddled on top of him. When Neuro did nothing else but to stare at her with that smile, she sighed and laid her head beneath his chin, muttering something about him being "too hard to resist".

He chuckled and caught her lips in his, smiling upon hearing her sigh deeply in the kiss.

_She had a rough day, I see_.

He felt the muscles of her body slowly loosening up as her lips and tongue went lax, and Neuro took that as a sign to take over—

—and Yako fell on his torso limply—

—and she _snored_.

That didn't deter Neuro, though.

With a stifled smile, he lifted Yako and laid her back on the bed properly, and with no time to lose, he started to gently pepper her face and body with chaste kisses and quiet sucks.

Even in her sleep, she was still moaning from his actions.

Onyx-emerald eyes glanced up at her, and saw that her eyes were still closed—there was no sign of her waking up just yet, yet she was responding to his touch.

He smirked, and he licked the underside of her right breast, sucking and playing on the flesh lightly, leaving a thin trail of saliva as he went down to the expanse of her flat tummy—

He heard another sigh from her, and the fingers on his hair loosened. He could see her smiling in her sleep. In response, he nibbled on her jutting hipbone, liking the way his mark decorated her pale skin.

Returning to her face, he silently admired her features with a smile, and he kissed her nose, then her lips—and again and again—

Intoxicated by the kisses, he slid his tongue in her mouth, and he became rougher in his actions as he moaned in her mouth.

And Yako slowly woke up from her quick slumber, and she responded in her own languid way as her hands entangled themselves on his now wild mess of a hair—nibbling and sucking on his lower lip with a contented sigh as they both deepened the kiss.

They continued for more than an hour, merely kissing deeply and petting heavily, along with the seldom sounds of breathless sighs and soundless gasps—and Yako instantly came when she felt a hand slither and heavily pet her crotch.

She sighed in his touch as he breathed hot breath in her ear, nipping it gently as he licked it. She reciprocated with a long and lewd kiss on his neck.

He nuzzled his head on her bosom, smiling sweetly upon feeling her warmth and softness.

Neuro felt the sound of her hum, and he closed his eyes.

"Neuro," she started, wounding her fingers in his hair as she heard him hum, "how do you deal with all the death everyday? I mean, you work in the Criminal Investigation Bureau, right?" Her question was spoken in pure curiosity, her brown eyes wide and innocent as he looked up at her.

"Yes, I work in the Criminal Investigation Bureau as an inspector in the First Division—homicide and unregistered weapons. You know that already. Why do you ask?" and he blinked at her, smiling softly still.

She simply shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips as her brown eyes softened—and a tentative finger hovered on the raised scar on his stomach where Jody had almost killed him three years ago.

"I just think of what the victims would feel if their loved ones were—"

A lone finger tapped her lips, silencing her effectively. "Humans are really fragile creatures," he mumbled, and he mimicked Yako's recent act of tracing his fingertip down her belly, smiling softly despite the morbid turn of their conversation. "Their skin too easily torn and their flesh too easily pierced. A killer, for example, would slash a victim here," he motioned his index finger along Yako's neck, "and the victim would either die instantly from shock or would die slowly from blood loss if an artery was missed. Heh—it's interesting, to say the least. Seeing how the victims are murdered could be intriguing and fascinating—how the killer committed the crime and all. The expressions on the victims' faces, though, are not. Some would turn blue or gray or almost black and decaying. Those are... not really my type of things to see—though I don't really feel anything for them, frankly."

"You're morbid," she murmured jokingly, and she let herself be kissed by him, silently turning away the sudden disturbing images floating in her mind. "What if something like that would happen to me while you're gone? What would you do?" she let out in between kisses.

He buried his nose in her neck, nibbling on the skin there as he sighed, "Then I'll kill everyone involved. Even if it takes many years—" He stopped kissing her, and narrow green eyes locked with wide brown ones, "But before anything of that sort would happen, I would already know beforehand—that's what your trinkets are for." And he held her tight once more, and Yako felt him shiver for the briefest of moments. "Besides, don't even think that way, stupid maggot."

Yako covered her blushing cheeks on the crook of his neck, and a smile bloomed on her face as he kissed her—on the cheeks, on the nose, on the eyes and lips, on the cleavage of her breasts—

And the sound of a faint knock drove them out of their dazed kiss-induced state, and within seconds, Neuro was already flinging out a thin sweater over a shocked Yako's exposed form, and he immediately rolled over to her side, his face flat down on the pillows just as Miwako opened the door with a smile.

"Dinner's ready, you two—oh. Dear me. They must have had a long day—"

There was a short period of silence as Miwako stared at the two figures lying still on the bed, unknowing of the faint sounds of breathing and the beating of hearts frantically forcing to slow down, and the click of the closing door was heard.

From inside the room, Yako and Neuro opened their eyes and smiled.

* * *

><p>Everything was ready to be said. The papers were done. The pile of evidence was collected. The testimony was collected. The witnesses were collected and alive and well. The criminal mastermind and his accomplices were already in his grasp—<p>

Now it was only up to the higher-ups to open the case once more.

Checking his reflection in the mirror one more time to see that every inch of detail was perfect—as always—Neuro nodded to himself and his striking electric blue suit (that he had taking a liking to, recently). Looking down to see that his shoes were pristine and shiny, he smiled, and exited the men's restroom with much refined grace.

The sound of his shoes clacking against the white floors echoed through the halls, and few greetings were exchanged between him and his colleagues. He had passed by a smiling and nodding Todoroki Shizuka—she had been peeping from the forensic department to the criminal investigation department lately—and Neuro heaved a deep sigh as he saw the large and impending frosted doors just three meters away.

Standing in front of the said doors, he held in his breath and squared his shoulders as he rapped on the door twice. Upon hearing a muffled voice from the inside, he took it as a cue to open the door, and Neuro wiped all traces of expression on his usually smiling face, and he entered the room with passiveness.

The first thing Neuro noticed was a large pile of neatly stacked folders and papers on top of the usually vacant large desk. Sitting behind it was a silently fuming bespectacled man. Said man looked up from the papers he was reading, and he scowled upon seeing Neuro's face and his too-tall body and his constantly enigmatic air.

A low grunt was heard from the man behind the desk, and he leaned back on his chair, quietly appreciating the feel of cold leather piercing his stiff back. And he sighed as he took off his rimless glasses, idly rubbing his temples with knotted brows as he did so.

"What do you want, Nougami. You don't normally come in here."

Ah, there it was.

Neuro then smiled upon hearing his name being (begrudgingly) said. He himself never did like the man sitting in front of him. Always showing up to the office with that scowl on his face and always barking orders around like he owned the damned place. Neuro had always hated everything about this man since day one. This constantly constipated-looking man. This man whom Neuro had mentally dubbed "Glasses Runt". This man who had always been a little bit too dominant about everything of anything. This man with the lame-ass plain black hair parted in the middle. This man with the constantly furrowed brows and pitch black eyes that were always narrowed on anyone he might lock eyes with.

This man sitting so proudly in front of him was Nougami Neuro's superior.

Sasazuka Eishi had also told Neuro about this dominant man. Apparently, Eishi and Glasses Runt had been classmates since college, and had worked in the same field since they graduated.

And it didn't help matters that Neuro became even more (quietly) irked when this superior of his had always been followed by that also-even-more-poker-faced and towering man trailing behind him. It made others think that there could be no privacy whenever one would want to talk to this man.

Even hearing the man's name was enough to make Neuro's brow curl down just the slightest.

Usui Naohiro.

Neuro merely fluttered his eyelashes once, and a full-blown smile appeared on his face.

"I want you to open up a case, Usui-_san._"

Naohiro visibly flattened.

Not that Neuro cared, anyway.

The rookie detective have always had an eye for cold cases ever since he joined the task force a year ago. And at the age of only 22, Nougami Neuro was already wrapping up case after case with no signs of stopping.

Another sigh was heard from the superintendent. And Naohiro's black eyes looked at the floor, purposely avoiding those striking green eyes.

"What case is it this time, Nougami."

The remark was anything but caring or interested. Naohiro kept on rubbing his temples, and Neuro was simply standing there in front of the weary man, smiling the world's problems away.

From behind Naohiro, the stoically towering man stood still, trying to imitate a statue as much as possible, not saying anything unless directly asked.

Neuro let out a short intake of air, and he quietly spoke.

"The case for Ewing's murder, sir."

Folders and fists hitting the desk was heard, and from outside the room, several people flinched as Naohiro's voice bellowed through the doors.

"Nougami's at it again," said one officer to Shizuka, who had been standing by the door for quite some time, just in case anything bad should happen from the inside.

"Why is Usui-_san_ so touchy about that case?" whispered Shizuka to the officer.

"That's because it's somehow related to the underground. And Usui-_san_ wants none of it."

"Then why is Nougami-_san_ so persistent?"

The smell of stale cigarette smoke invaded Shizuka's nostrils.

"That's because it's directly related to Nougami himself."

Shizuka whipped her head around, "Ah, Sasazuka-_sempai!_ ...eh? What do you mean it's directly related to Nougami-_san?_"

* * *

><p>Naohiro sighed for the umpteenth time in his office.<p>

And Neuro was still standing in front of him for the past hour and a half.

"Nougami, I understand how you feel about those kidnappers being related to the Ewing case but—"

"But there's more to it. I _know_. That is why I'm asking you to open up _that_ case. There are more of them out there who are randomly picking up little children on their way home just to sell them off to some pedophile!"

By now, Naohiro was leaning his forehead on his palm as he hunched on the chair. He knew of the incident Neuro was talking about.

The fact that Jody Tubulik was the mastermind in the rampant kidnapping of children 15 years ago.

The case went cold after five years because the mastermind wasn't caught red-handed. The minions that were caught that day weren't enough—always pinpointing and had wishy-washy evidence.

_But then Nougami arrived and changed it all_.

Black eyes bore at green ones, neither of them backing down.

_Nougami's classmate-turned-fiancée was kidnapped before, I heard. And that was the start of this guy's trauma_.

Naohiro closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he cradled his chin on the back of his hands.

He had heard from Eishi and Jun what the rookie in front of him was capable of. Psychological tortures were Neuro's forte—they were witnesses to that after the torture of Jody Tubulik. That, along with his tactful tongue and well-built frame, would make any criminal crumble in submission.

Neuro stood perfectly still, his expression quite expectant of his superior's answer.

Naohiro mentally cursed himself. And his shoulders sagged.

He couldn't test how much truth was spun around Jun's words, but for Eishi to even say such a thing about Neuro…

"Fine. I'll open the case. But in return, you'd better bring me lots of yogurt. The brand that I want so much."

And for the briefest of seconds, Usui Naohiro could swear that he saw a glimpse of glimmering fanged teeth as Neuro bowed and deeply said his thanks.

* * *

><p>"Why am I doing this again?" Yako whined in exasperation. And Yuka tapped her fingers on her hips in response.<p>

"For our research, Nougami. _Research._"

Yako inched away from Yuka's scary and looming face on hers. Yes, she was definitely a carbon copy of Shinobu.

Yako merely pouted her lips in petulance, her countenance too reluctant to do anything else aside from eating the bag of garlic bread she had stashed in her bag earlier before they entered the library. "Right, research... research... Oh, and Yuka-_san_, please do call me by my name."

"But you're Nougami's fiancée," she pointed out a bit too loudly, uncaring for the sharp looks the librarian sent her way.

Yako lowered her head on the table and covered her head with a book in an attempt to somehow hide herself from the looks she was receiving from the girls near their table. Apparently, Yako had become "the girl with the handsome escort everyday when going home"—and it was driving Yako crazy.

"I am definitely _not_ married to him yet! Why do you keep on confusing people?" she whispered harshly, avoiding a random girl's stare. Really, Yuka attracted too much attention from the girls in school—in a bad way. _She's too blunt with everything!_

Yuka only covered her mouth and doubled over in muffled laughter. Yako, on the other hand, let out a resigned sigh.

_How many days left until I graduate, again?_

* * *

><p>"Eh? You're going to take Tubulik from Hisanori-<em>san?<em> Would he even allow you that?"

"Of course, he would. I am the reason why the amount of enrollees raised for the past few years, remember?"

"But he's brainwashed."

"And that is why I keep a close contact on Harukawa, Yako. Oh, and snail. Please pass the mustard. Your mother murdered the cuisine again."

* * *

><p>Aya hummed as she mentally prepared herself for the song she was about to sing for tonight in the ramen house-turned-eat-all-you-can restaurant. Business had been picking up quite nicely ever since she started singing in front of the people who were eating the food that Shinobu and his uncle made. And really, she owed Shinobu a lot.<p>

There were also new customers lately, and this particular customer here was hunched up in the seat in a corner, typing keys away in his laptop as he sipped on his perfectly brewed coffee.

He had been coming here since two months ago.

"Good evening sir, may I take your order now?"

Shiny eyeglasses looked up at the smiling blonde, and the man merely nodded.

"I'll take the kitsune udon you have here. Oh, and please call me Yuu."

* * *

><p>Yako talked jovially with Aya inside a quaint café near the station, catching up about the things that happened to them lately.<p>

"I hear Kanae-_san_ will give birth soon," said Aya, and she sipped on her cup of frappuccino.

Yako giggled, and looked outside the glass windows, glancing at the people passing by. "Kanae-_chan_ is unfair. She would get to have a baby earlier than all of us, and she's not even married yet."

"She will be. I heard from Mutsuki-_san_ that Kanae-_san_ will be marrying him on—"

"On the twenty-fifth. I know. She wouldn't stop talking about it every night," and Yako giggled. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a couple with a baby in a stroller, and her smile softened. "A family, eh. It sounds scary at first, don't you think, Aya-_san?_"

Aya followed Yako's trail of sight, and her eyelids fluttered close as she smiled, "Yes it does. Having a child. Raising a family. Occasional fights with both spouse and child. Everything sounds scary at first." Golden brown eyes locked with amber ones, and a knowing tug of a smile played on Aya's lips as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "But that is why Nougami-_san_ is there with you, right? Always watching and looking out for you through thick and thin."

Yako blinked, surprised at the sudden mention of her fiancé's name. And when she realized that Aya was teasing her, Yako waved her hand flippantly, fighting down the blush spreading to her cheeks.

"Oh, Aya-_san_. Stop teasing me!"

And they both laughed.

A familiar figure slowly approached Aya and he tapped her shoulder—

—and Yako gasped as she looked at him.

"Higuchi-_san?_"

The aforementioned blinked at Aya, then at Yako, and realization dawned on him. And he laughed awkwardly.

"Oh hi, Katsuragi!"

Aya, stunned at the sudden turn of events, gaped her mouth, "You two know each other?"

"I know of her through Nougami! Uh... Yeah. Nougami. Haha!" and Yuuya scratched his head, laughing awkwardly as he looked at the surprised look on Aya's face.

"I met Higuchi-_san_ in... um... during unforeseen circumstances. I have forgiven him over time. But Neuro, on the other hand..." and Yako trailed off, looking away from Aya's wide eyes.

"Well... That is—quite—um—it really is a small world...?" Aya squeaked almost incoherently.

Yuuya merely stood stiffly, his lips clamped shut and his eyebrows raised too high and his shoulders too squared as he fidgeted under Yako's passive stare.

All of a sudden, Neuro popped from behind him, his perfectly innocent smile plastered all over his face as he carelessly shoved Yuuya from his way and moved over to where Yako sat.

Yako wasn't surprised at all that he popped out from out of the blue.

"Yako! I came to have dinner with you!" Neuro declared happily as he kissed her on the brow, and promptly leaned on her whole body, cackling madly as he called over a waitress passing by. And he made his order as Yako struggled beneath his too huge of a body.

All the while, Aya sat still, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly at the sight of her friend and Neuro battling on who should sit on the chair that Yako occupied.

Neuro was winning singlehandedly, to say the least.

From Aya's right, Yuuya staggered as he stood, and he glared at Neuro's insane self.

The green-eyed man had shifted their sitting positions, and now, Yako was sitting on Neuro's lap, and Yako blushed madly as she was being stared at by the people around them.

Even the people from outside the glass windows were looking at her strangely.

Yako buried her head in Neuro's neck, muttering curses in his ear in six different languages.

"Some things never change, right Yako?" cooed a wide-eyed Neuro. The string of curses he heard from her was quite amusing. Hearing her speak in tongues—and for some unknown, foreign thought, it aroused him.

Neuro whispered something to Yako's ear, and from Aya's point of view, it was something not meant to be heard—judging from the sudden flush of red rising to Yako's whole face.

Remembering to regain her composure, she cleared her throat and asked, "How did you find us, Nougami-_san?_"

"My little snail here told me beforehand, you see. And besides, this is near to the station and my workplace. She always hangs out here during her breaks from classes," and for added emphasis, Neuro lightly patted Yako's skirt-clad butt thrice, liking the way he felt her skin go hot.

Aya could only nod, and took that as a decent reason enough.

Yuuya, though, stood behind Aya, and raised a dirty finger to Neuro.

The bespectacled man received a shoe to the face.

The waitress who approached them and gave Neuro's order tried her best to ignore the fallen Yuuya.

And Yako tried her best to ignore the people around them. Yet despite it all, she mustered a quick kiss to the juncture of Neuro's neck and lightly sucked on the skin there.

And Neuro patted her head appreciatively as he closed his eyes and relished in the feel of her tongue and lips and teeth on his skin. And he inadvertently hissed as he felt her fists crawling into his clothes.

Aya, knowing what was happening, merely looked away.

Yuuya could only stand and dumbly stare in envy.

* * *

><p>Rumpled bed sheets. A moonlit night. Two young and hot-blooded beings. Limbs thoroughly entwined. Bodies in disarray. Voices raspy, low and heavy. Breaths coming out in short pants and gasps. Hands shaky and clammy as fingertips kissed heated skin and beads of glistening sweat—<p>

And Neuro wanted more—

—yet he held himself back, as he was (and had always been) unsure on how to proceed should they cross that bridge of no return.

Yako laid her head beneath his chin, her ears thrumming at the erratic beating of his pulse. A prolonged foreplay they have always done, going with the ebb and flow of their desires until it consumed them to the limit—

—and they would shatter in pieces in the bliss of afterglow.

It had always been that way, and for now, they were truly content.

Spindly fingers danced through curled and unruly wheat locks, willing himself to calm his hammering heart. Forest green eyes flicked to the clock. It was past three in the morning. At the back of his mind, he hoped they didn't make much of a mess tonight—wondering what the Katsuragi caretaker would say would rattle Neuro to no end.

He closed his eyes, and he kept on smoothing out Yako's wild hair. The warmth of their bodies slowly lulled him to Sleep's embrace, and he felt the beginnings of slumber to cover his eyes, yet he still managed to utter mumbled words.

"Traditional or Christian?"

At the sudden question, Yako's interest was slightly piqued, yet she only hummed as an acknowledgment to his question. She didn't even spare him a glance, as her whole body felt heavy, and her voice too laden with gruffness.

"...wha—?" She heard a chuckle, a thrum of a vibration in her clouded ears, and she felt his arm snaking down to her waist, and a kiss was delivered to her brow.

"I asked you if you want a traditional or Christian wedding. A Christian wedding sounds... well... meh—to me. We're not even Christians, so why make a pretend Christian wedding? It's just too much of a fuss."

Neuro felt Yako hum, and a trace of her smile was evident on the feel of her lips on his skin. She didn't like she was in the mood to speak as of now—_she's too absorbed in the afterglow, I see. Heh_.

He yawned and tried to will the sleep away as he spoke in an even quieter voice. "Or we could just skip all these ceremonies altogether and just go straight to the city hall and marry there and not do a ceremony at all. A ceremony is not required for weddings in this country, anyway."

He felt her mumble something incoherently, and he heard her yawn as she rubbed her face on his neck.

"...'wan'a wedding cer'm'ny," he heard her grumble almost petulantly, and she snoozed peacefully with a lazy smile.

He stifled a laugh. _Ah, women. So complicated._

* * *

><p>The clacking of stiletto heels echoed on the tiled floors, a lilting hum of a melody passed through pink-glossed lips as a woman walked towards the reception area in the police department with a warm smile.<p>

"Hello. May I ask where Nougami's office is?"

The receptionist looked up and saw a woman of 22 years of age, with honey-brown eyes and had a single, toothy smiling-shaped hair clip that adorned her wheat-hued tresses which curled and waved delicately down her slender neck. A button-down white blouse covered and emphasized her quite shapely form, and a high-waist skirt hugged her luscious thighs.

"...Miss?"

At this, the receptionist gasped, and laughed nervously as she apologized and typed away on the computer screen, biting her lip as she did so. "Ah, Detective Nougami is on the third floor, the seventh office to the left."

At this, the woman, Yako, smiled and said her thanks. "The first month of your work is always the hardest. Thank you for your hard work!" and Yako left with a friendly grin, which left the receptionist in surprise, and the receptionist returned the smile. And she stood from her post and bowed.

"Thank you very much!" and the receptionist watched Yako's retreating form with much glee. Though she idly wondered—_how did she know I'm new here?_

* * *

><p>Yako walked towards her destination with a jolly vibe emanating from her features. She passed by a woman with short black hair, who seemed to make a double take at Yako, though Yako herself paid no mind as she walked up to the office where Neuro was supposed to be.<p>

Knocking on the door twice and leaning her ear towards it, she heard a muffled sound from the other side, and she peeked in the room.

"Neuro?" she called out, and she saw him talking on the phone about a client in Fukuoka. Green eyes met brown for a fraction of a second, and Neuro gestured for her to come in and lock the door.

The moment he laid his eyes on all of her, his cold stare on the door turned into a heated gaze as he nodded at her.

"...Yes, thank you for your hard work. I understand," he mumbled, yet his greedy eyes roved all over Yako's womanly form, his stare silently appreciating the way her hips gently swayed in its alluring temptation, the way her tight skirt rode up just the slightest on each step she took towards him.

His hold on the phone tightened even more.

"Yes, can I—call you back later, sir? I... have some more—_pressing_ matters to attend to right now." And with that, Neuro hung up the phone and took in Yako's professional and captivating appearance. Standing before him was his fiancée, his soon-to-be wife—

—and he was now urging Yako to climb all over him.

He hummed into her blouse, smiling at the way his face dipped at the slope of her tender bosom, and his hands slid their way on her curvaceous bottom, giving each cheek a loud slap that rendered Yako whining and gasping.

"What are you doing here?" he mumbled into her cleavage, a tip of a tongue lapping on the nice and plump flesh there as he spoke.

"I passed my thesis today, now I know I'm going to graduate," Yako mumbled just as huskily as he did, and her dainty fingers wound around fine locks of blond and black, and she pushed herself further onto Neuro's face cradling her chest possessively.

Nimble fingers toyed with the hooks of her brassiere, and Neuro loved the way she ground her hips on his.

"Hm—congratulations, kitten. I'm guessing we should celebrate?" he asked with a hint of amusement. He might not say it out loud, but Yako knew just by looking at his face—and that _grin_—that he was proud of her, and as he looked into those playful pools of ocher, Yako nodded slowly.

"Do you want to eat out?" she suggested, and from the way she said it, Neuro deduced she wasn't talking about food.

* * *

><p>The drive towards home was a bit lazy, to say the least, though neither of them said a bit of complaint as Neuro drove at a rather slower pace than usual.<p>

They silently blamed their steaming make-out session earlier in the back of the car.

"So, the professors gave you a grade of _shuu?_"

Yako nodded happily as she buttoned up her slightly rumpled blouse, and Neuro could clearly see she was brimming with pure joy as she lifted herself up a bit just to zip her skirt back up.

"It's because Neuro taught me," she said with a proud huff. Huffing because she had to lean over to properly zip up her—

"Here," and Neuro blindly tugged up the zipper with one fluid stroke, and Yako sighed as she leaned back on her seat with a content smile. He glanced at her with a quick upturn of his thin yet slightly swollen (from kissing her earlier) lips. "I am proud of my little louse," he mumbled, and he was sure that he was heard, as Yako's smile broadened even wider.

"I'm proud that you're proud of me," she giggled, and she fought the urge not to scratch her nails all over his slightly exposed chest once more. He was getting more sculpted as time wore on, and his build was taking in the form of a nicely-toned man—not too bulky, but not too lanky, either. His build was just right for her. And those collarbones and shoulders of his were begging to be bitten and nibbled on, and those lean muscles of his were just _too tempting_ to ignore.

She hadn't realized when her right hand had drifted downwards to where her thighs met.

Neuro had grown into a fine young man, from his proud stance and his to-die-for appearance, down to his seductive and magical touch and his utterly sexy voice that whispered too many a loose and raunchy string of words in her too-willing ears every night—

"You're thinking of me in a naked way, aren't you?"

That snapped Yako out of her reverie, and she stifled a smile.

* * *

><p>"<em>Nee-chan<em> came to see me yesterday. She told me something about Hisanori-_jii_ allowing _sensei_ to be handed over to Neuro-_nii?_"

Hisanori nodded at the smiling girl sitting in front of him.

"Ah, yes. Mutsuki didn't hear the news, right? That Nougami took Tubulik away from me. It was something about the Turk being the mastermind in Yako's kidnapping years ago. It really is a small world."

"He still holds a grudge on her captors. And now that he knew who the brains behind the act was, he will never let this chance go." Mutsuki's eyes narrowed at the thought of Jody being the source of her _nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_'s suffering—

"That's right, Mutsuki. Which is why, I cannot, in any way, refuse him. Though, in a way, I am thanking that no-good foreigner for what he had mistakenly done. If his minions didn't manage to get a hold on Katsuragi that day, then—"

"Neuro-_nii_ would be a person different than what he is now. Perhaps he would've even taken another woman as his fiancée. Maybe he would've been single today."

"Heh. You dwell on a lot of things, Mutsuki. Why? Were you thinking of yourself as a woman standing beside Nougami?"

"Never."

The look of a cold glare on Mutsuki's eyes told Hisanori that she was purely offended by his words. "Oh?"

"_Nee-chan_ and Neuro-_nii_ should be together. They always have and always will be. There is no other woman perfect for Neuro-_nii_—only _nee-chan_ could fill his cold heart."

Hisanori's smile widened just a tad, and he opened his eyes with a knowing look reflecting in those black orbs.

"So I see you noticed that he could be merciless and could go into a full-forced sadistic frenzy if he wanted to. But he couldn't do it."

"Because he cherishes _nee-chan_ with all his melted heart could ever muster."

* * *

><p>An ornate ring rolled around Neuro's fingers. Its stones of hambergite lightly pressed his palm, and the single, large stone of sphene encased with seven iris rhinestones glinted at his emerald eyes, making him smile in contentment.<p>

He had made the ring everyday for three weeks, during break times in his office (he had brought his equipment from home), and he had hid that fact from Yako.

He didn't want her to know, after all.

Neuro had purposely selected such stones that would befit him and his fiancée—a band made of white gold and platinum, a sphene that beautifully swirled colors of brown and green when kissed by the sunlight, hambergite and iris rhinestones surrounding the band, all of them twinkling in the light—

—what more could she ask?

He huffed to himself, an arrogant smile painted his lips as he observed the way the stones winked upon meeting a shred of light. "Diamonds are so overrated, anyway," he whispered to himself.

There was a curt knocking on the door, and Neuro quickly took out a little black box that housed the other ring (the one for himself), and he smiled upon putting it back in place.

_The ring would look so beautiful on her_.

He closed the lid and put it back in his pocket, just as the door opened, and Shizuka appeared by the doorway.

"I just got the incriminating evidence you found the other day," she said with a huge grin as she entered the room, huffing as she placed a stack of papers on his desk. "The other people in your department are running around like headless chickens, by the way. What happened?"

A dismissive hand waved in front of a puzzled Shizuka, and Neuro's smirk widened even more as he looked at the topmost folder and scanned at the reports filed there. "I told them the bomb will go off at precisely 2:00. Judging by the way they are panicking now, they just found out that what I said is true. The only one who believed me the whole time was that voyeur, though I don't really think he has the power to take over the police force, so the best thing he could do is to stall time." He glanced at the clock on his desk. It was nearing one forty-five. "Or not."

Shizuka disregarded who that "voyeur" was, though she had an inkling that that was someone she was familiar with. "And you're not going to help them?" her voice cracked at the obvious apathetic air Neuro had, her mouth hung agape as he merely raised an eyebrow at the papers in front of him, his expression too amused by all of the chaos happening just outside the door.

"I already told them what will happen and that they should take precaution. But did they listen?" Onyx-green eyes bore into Shizuka's stunned form, "No. They did not. So the blame falls on them for not listening to me." His attention turned back to the papers he was scanning, "And you spelled the victim's name wrong. Do it again."

Shizuka was speechless. The way he dismissed other people's lives like they were trash! How cruel of him!

She scrunched her lips, glaring daggers at that devilishly handsome face of his that was so heartless and careless and apathetic and mean and—

"Todoroki? Didn't you hear me? I said do the papers again."

And she was being ordered around! Why, that little—

"Will do, _Detective_." And with a scoff and a low growl, Shizuka grabbed the papers from his desk, turned away, and opened the door with an apparent lack of grace, not before being stopped by Neuro with a loud—

"Your skirt's ripped in the middle!"

—and Shizuka paled as her eyes widened.

* * *

><p>Yako talked to the receptionist today, and she was feeling much chipper than usual.<p>

Once Yako noticed that Neuro was approaching, Yako became even more hyper, waving her hand excitedly at the proudly grinning man, "Neuro, Neuro!" And she bounded over towards him with an excited squeal and a tight hug. "I passed the final interview!"

Upon hearing her words, a wide grin broke on his face, and he hugged and lifted her off the floor with his arms wrapped around her buttocks and waist.

"I see you passed everything with flying colors, maggot. That's an achievement for someone as brainless as you. So? When will you start?"

Yako blatantly ignored his apparent insult-covered praise, and focused her thoughts on the part when he told her she passed with flying colors. "I will start next week. I'll be in the Community Police Affairs as an Inspector. So I'm in the same rank as you."

"Just in different departments."

Yako giggled as he kissed her forehead, "Yup. Just in different departments."

He put her down as soon as he noticed that some people were looking at the two of them. Not that he cared what they think, but really―

"_We can continue this in the car,_" he whispered hotly in her ear, and he openly squeezed her right butt cheek shamelessly.

And Yako felt her face go aflame.

All the while, the receptionist, a plaited-haired girl named Akane, stifled a giggle as Neuro effortlessly swooped Yako off her feet and lifted her over his shoulder, and he patted Yako's bottom lightly.

The people around them observed them idly with curious eyes, and all of them wondered what type of relationship the odd pair had.

* * *

><p>Only ten pages this chapter. Oh well. =w=<p> 


	29. Insidiae

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Nine: Insidiae<strong>

* * *

><p>Todoroki Shizuka had yet to get used to seeing a <em>truly<em> happily smiling Neuro—as during the times she was with him, he was usually seen scowling or frowning or just plain poker-faced and dead bored-looking.

Yet for the past few weeks, he had been openly smiling at the people that passed him by, to some, he even laughed at them along with a lighthearted wave.

Shizuka supposed it was because of the woman always standing so dutifully next to him—always smiling at him, always calming him down with a light touch on his arm or even a small peck on his pale cheek.

Katsuragi Yako.

Shizuka didn't know whether to blanch or to be jealous at such a free-willed display of affection. Her seniors didn't seem to mind; Eishi and Jun were either dead oblivious or were just ignoring the blatant show of affection Neuro showered on Yako everyday since she worked in _Keishichou_. Yuuya didn't seem to mind it at all, either. In fact, he thought it was a nice change of atmosphere in the workplace. Heck, even _Naohiro_ didn't mind at all. "As long as they are doing their jobs accordingly, then I don't care whatever it is they're doing on their spare time," those were his words back then.

And now, Shizuka was having lunch with the man she liked—somewhat—and the woman that the man had always loved.

Since when did her life start being complicated?

"Ah. Todoroki-_san_, are you going to eat that?"

Shizuka almost winced at Yako's question. The girl had been eating everything on the menu for the past hour!

Black eyes drifted to where Neuro sat, sitting quite comfortably beside Yako. In the middle of the table, a large stack of empty plates was arranged neatly.

Both Neuro and Yako were already on their twentieth serving of food—forty plates in all.

Shizuka eyed Yuuya, who was sitting nonchalantly beside her. The bespectacled man acted obliviously enough, it was either that, or he was already used to seeing such people eating an insane amount of food.

Yako ate the half-eaten contents of Shizuka's meal—with her permission, of course. Once done eating the plate of goya chanpuru, Yako silently let out a burp, and upon seeing the surprised look on Shizuka's face, she giggled.

Neuro, on the other hand, had just finished eating his plate of baked polenta, and was already wiping his mouth with a small smile of satisfaction.

"You two really are something," Shizuka idly commented. And Yako, already used to such comments, could only brush it off with a smile.

"I guess our love of food is the primary thing as to why we're so attached," Yako said coyly. "Oh. Neuro, I'll just go to the restroom." And as she left, she idly patted her hair clips—it became her habit ever since Neuro gave him the modified trinket.

Shizuka observed Yako with curiosity. How she could stay so thin despite eating a feast fit for a king—it must be some sort of blessing!

"Hey, Nougami. What's with all the fuss about Tubby?"

Shizuka snapped out of her thoughts as Yuuya leaned over to whisper to Neuro.

"Ah, The Corpse, you mean? Well, he's in my custody. The superintendent himself said that I should be the one to take care of the matter. Plus, no amount of brainwashing could quench my thirst for torturing The Corpse, you see. The moment I found out that he was the one who caused all the mayhem that happened to Yako when we were seven, I knew I just had to get a grip on him and show him _how it feels_ to be suffocated inside a confined space of nothing but vinyl. And besides, I have the need to avenge what he did to my school. Damaging its reputation. Really, if I were to have my way since the beginning, I would've skinned him alive and poke his flesh with pins dipped in wolfsbane. Maybe I would've filmed him if I were to torture him. A great souvenir it will make for the principal, yes?"

Yuuya and Shizuka gaped at his completely amused countenance, too stunned to speak anything that might splutter out of their babbling mouths. Only one thing could be said about the man smiling so _sweetly_ in front of them.

Sadistic. A man with a beastly pure and unhinged sadistic streak.

"I'm back!" Yako chimed, and she sat back to her seat with a smile. "Did I miss anything?"

Shizuka clamped her mouth shut, shaking her head fervently at a smiling Yako, while Yuuya simply sipped on his cold soup. All the while, Neuro merely graced the two bumbling idiots—as he mentally dubbed—an icy smile, and he pecked Yako on the cheek with a little smug smirk.

* * *

><p>Yako had helped Kanae a few days ago about the wedding gown that her best friend will wear.<p>

And now it was Yako's turn to fret over what type of design she should wear.

"I think a strapless would be nice," pondered Yako out loud as she happily twirled in the dress she just picked out. Neuro, as skeptical as always about choosing clothes for her to wear, merely put a thoughtful finger to his lips, onyx-emerald eyes scrutinizing the areas that subtly showed her milky skin.

"Straps on the shoulders. Those that fall on the upper arms. I won't have you wearing a dress that will most likely fall off while you walk towards the ceremony."

A minute pout formed on Yako's lips, nonetheless, she thought about his words, musing out loud as she faced the mirror in the changing room. "Well, at least your suggestion will emphasize my collarbones."

* * *

><p>The wedding reception was everything that Yako imagined it to be. Nice dresses, guests and family of old and new alike mingling together in the joyous occasion, exchanged polite and wide smiles, cheerful wishes for the newlywed couple and their little child (Yukie, the child's name was) babbling in Kanae's arms—<p>

—and all that food swimming tantalizingly in front of Yako's gluttonous form.

Everyone ate and became satisfied. Plus, with Yukinori as the newly-wed husband, nothing was ever boring.

Booze and food flooded the tables, boisterous laughter and cheers erupted in the air, lively dances and soothing songs dominated the atmosphere, the conversation light and playful—

The newly-wed couple, along with the three-week-old infant in Kanae's arms, was clearly filled with much joy. And all the while, Yako idly wondered with a smile, on how her wedding with Neuro would be like.

She glanced at her fiancé, who was seated next to her, smirking upon seeing a drunk Shinobu wobble over to a guffawing Mutsuki, and a small smile crept to Yako's lips.

* * *

><p>"A new report came in today," Jun sighed as he plopped a folder on Neuro's desk. "Said she was missing for a week already. No one has ever seen her leave her room on the night of the fifth. The next morning, all the parents of the girl could see was a neat room. Nothing was touched. As though their daughter vanished into thin air. The windows were closed from the inside, no one could have locked it from the inside if she were to go through there."<p>

"Maybe she slipped out without them knowing? To go to a friend's place or something? A rebellious teen, perhaps?" Neuro was thumbing over the files, critical eyes glancing over the black print on the papers as fingers danced on the edges.

Jun shrugged. "Likely so. But the parents contacted all of the girl's friends from elementary to high school—and no one knew where she was. Though the other files said there (on page 22) that one of the witnesses, a concerned citizen and a close friend of the family, said that a black van was scouring the area nearby where the house was. It was strange, slowly driving around the corner at midnight though no one was around. CCTV cameras showed that there was only one suspicious person loitering around the area. And when the van came in front of the said person, said person entered the van and it left. Footage was blurred, and the clothes that the parents described that their daughter was wearing that night didn't match with the suspicious person. It could be coincidence."

"Or it could be that she brought extra clothes when she left. But then, that would contradict what the parents said that nothing was touched in her room. Or maybe she was hiding those clothes in a place where no one would notice." Neuro hummed, his thoughts deriving possible and impossible conclusions, and a thin line sat grimly upon his face as he flipped another page.

His green eyes widened as he stilled on the next paper, hands suddenly shaking and palms sweating at the sight of the picture that stared at him with an almost familiar air.

Jun, oblivious to the sudden shift of behavior of the blond, merely pointed at the picture of a smiling girl.

"That's our person for today. I'd say—she's a spitting image of Yako. Only with longer hair."

* * *

><p>"—and that is how we will treat the victims of the families. No unnecessary prodding will occur."<p>

Everyone in the conference room nodded gravely, and when Yako smiled, she dismissed them all with a polite bow.

"Thank you for your hard work!" she said as the same people smiled and bowed in return.

From the outside, loud thumping and ceaseless wheezing could be heard.

The door slammed open, and there appeared Neuro, his face deathly pale with cold sweat running down his brow, and those green eyes were wide and blank with what anyone could say was unshed tears.

The people inside exchanged confused and otherwise nervous glances. They knew what reputation Neuro had—he was one not to be crossed with, especially when it came to his fiancée—and some hastily avoided his wide and distraught eyes as they politely excused themselves. Some stayed for the briefest of moments, curious eyes watching as Neuro wordlessly and breathlessly came up to Yako with outstretched arms and a gasp and an almost choked-out cry.

Like a child that hadn't seen his mother for a long time.

"N-Neuro...! What are you—"

The trembling of his whole body and the feel of coldness of his lips on her neck made Yako halt her words.

Something was not right.

She remained silent as Neuro hugged her with all his might, all the while, she offered a forced smile and a mouthed apology to the people who were still present, and they merely shook their heads with sad smiles and polite bows.

"She looks like you. She looks like you..."

"Neuro? What's wrong? What are you talking about, dummy?" Her mind raced questions on how he could be acting this way—everything seemed so familiar...

At this, Neuro forced his quivering body away from her, his green-black eyes still wide with what Yako thought of as fear.

_It couldn't be_...

"The case today—the victim—a missing person—she looks almost like you. Taken by a black van—"

Oh.

_Oh_.

She was stunned by his words, not knowing whether to be afraid or not, and her body reacted immediately—hugging him tight as she kissed his clavicle with a shuddering sigh.

"I'm here—I'm here," she whispered as she fought back tears, and from the uncharacteristic way that Neuro's frame trembled around hers, she could tell that he was holding back a strangled cry.

Unlikely for Neuro as it was, he still remained human. He was bound to break down and cry, and unbeknownst to the people who were new in _Keishichou_, Neuro hid a fear that ate him from inside out.

He had hidden it very well until today.

* * *

><p>The case was finally closed after three days of searching. With Neuro as the head of the case, everything flowed smoothly.<p>

The girl had been traced and found, alive and well with only minor bruises on the wrists, in Hokkaido—miles and miles away from her home. She had intended to meet up with a friend that she met on the internet, and she realized that it was a huge mistake when the boy she thought was her friend put her inside a huge vinyl bag and roped her shut inside a van.

She was supposed to be shipped overseas as a mail-order bride.

Neuro heaved a sigh of relief. He had been acting not like himself lately, and fatigue took its toll on him as he slumped on the welcoming feel of his leather chair in the office.

Everything had been a blur, and too many memories resurfaced. Memories that he wanted to erase from his too-broad mind, but just couldn't. He was blessed and cursed with a photographic memory, after all.

Yako flitted on about inside his office and became his secretary for the day, giving him chamomile tea and some snacks to calm down his erratic nerves.

"You're tired," she mumbled as she observed the bags appearing under his weary and drooping eyes.

"I am," he mumbled, and he tried hard to stay awake, to keep a close watch on Yako as he had always done, and yet, all it took for him to give into slumber was a hand that slowly ran through his black and blond locks, and he fell asleep on Yako's bosom.

* * *

><p>It had been a week since the case with the missing girl was solved. Yet muddied thoughts filled Neuro's mind as he idly twirled his engagement ring, onyx-jade eyes looking lost as he looked at the solved case file in front of him.<p>

The girl that looked like Yako.

Neuro frowned. Almost everything about the girl was the same like Yako's. The same small face. The large eyes. The small mouth. The same hair color.

A shudder ran down his spine.

Yako had been quick to reassure him that no such thing will ever happen to her again. Her touches had always soothed him, her voice lulled him to sleepless slumbers, her words wrapping up his cold heart in welcoming warmth. Those things alone were enough to satisfy him and his paranoia, and he tucked the folder away in the lowest drawer and never looked at it ever again.

It wasn't until another week that something popped up about the Tubulik case.

"'ey. How's it going, Mister Detective?"

The lilting voice of one Chandra Aska Rsunawala, otherwise known as Vijaya, invaded Neuro's thoughts about Yako. Green eyes looked at the Indian boy with a wide leer.

"Ah, I see you decided to drop by. Came to visit your friend in the solitary cell?"

The Indian scoffed, and fished his hands inside his baggy pants, "I will never visit him." The look of hatred crossed his black eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Neuro contemplated that the boy thought about killing Tubulik.

It was what Neuro was thinking, after all.

A small smirk crossed the man's handsome face, and he shrugged, "I was just thinking of what you will do to him if I told you that he is the reason why you almost died at the hands of a merchant that sells human flesh four years ago. Try not to look surprised. I read everything in your file."

Vijaya's eyes suddenly went ablaze, his teeth clenched as he spat out. "I already know that—"

"And yet here you are, still not making any move to annihilate the damn thing."

"Shiva will someday murder his soul. I'm sure of it. Besides, why do you snoop on my file and purposely hide such things from your partner? Try not to look surprised. I read your file."

A ghost of a smile played on Neuro's lips, and spidery digits entwined on the desk.

"Everything I do is for her."

It was all the explanation that Vijaya needed to hear.

* * *

><p>"Neuro? What are you doing?" It was Yako's voice bellowing over the sound of the soft guitar music emanating from Neuro's laptop.<p>

The latter looked up and hummed, "Searching for cold trails as usual."

It wasn't really a lie, but a nagging thought told him that he shouldn't tell her that he really wanted to kill the Turk.

Neuro was searching for a way to take The Corpse to the capital punishment—the hanging.

Yako giggled, and she entered her room with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. "It's already late," she mumbled as she laid down the food on the dresser, "you should take a rest. I haven't seen you with those eye bags since high school."

A mirthless laugh slipped past his lips as he opened a new tab on the screen, and he blankly typed the most notable unsolved crimes in Japan.

For once, he was hiding something from her. And he had no intention of saying it to her, no matter how much prodding his conscience racked his mind.

* * *

><p>Solitary confinement. It drove him insane.<p>

At the back of Jody's mind, there was something that he felt he should remember, but just can't.

Banging his head to the white walls for the tenth time, Jody let out a soundless cry.

Something that he should remember. But he just _can't_.

"Think, think, _think!_" he yelled to himself as he ripped out his matted black hair with grimy fingernails. He was huddled in a corner, muddy thoughts fizzing inside his mind's eye.

All he could remember was that he was a doctor. A doctor that treated patients kindly with warm smiles and words. But there was something missing...

For a moment, an image of fiery red hair flickered in his mind.

He couldn't make out the face of the person in his mind, all he could see was those flowing locks of bloody red, a blurred face, an eerily familiar high school uniform—

—and startling green eyes.

The sound of his cell door creaking open was heard, and footsteps bounced from the walls.

"Hello, my dear teacher. Did you miss me?"

And distraught black eyes looked up at the one who spoke. He was tall and lean, a man with an imperious sneer—

—and those _eyes_.

They were the most hypnotizing shade of green he had ever seen.

And all of a sudden, the onslaught of memories crashed on him like a wave.

A hoard of people under his thumb. All of them bent to his every whim. Children crying and screaming for help. Loyal patrons of the brothels. The memories of a secret meeting. A girl with the most striking shade of red hair. The tears that followed. The scandals that shook a school. A bloody rope. An ice cold swimming pool. The prowling media and the invasive police—

—her _corpse_.

"...Nou... gami..."

And those green eyes flashed with sheer sadistic glee.

"Ah, so you remembered? Just by looking at the mere sight of my face?" At this, Neuro bared his fanged teeth, and raised his suit and exposed a part of his stomach—the one that had the faintest of scars. As he watched those coal eyes widening in stark realization, Neuro traced his middle finger along the marred and stitched flesh, fighting back the shiver that ran down his spine as fingertip met skin.

Babbled incoherencies spluttered forth from his currently mute mouth, and Neuro took a single step forward, the wide grin from his lips almost splitting his face.

"Shall I make you remember what I put you through before? Shall I make you remember _everything_ you did—on that day, 15 years ago?"

Moments seemed to pass, and the sound of something clanging to the floor was heard—

—and a piercing scream coated the cold walls.

* * *

><p>Eishi stormed down the school's familiar hallways with fiery determination.<p>

Find Hayasaka Hisanori, his mind screamed.

The unlit cigarette tasted like lead on his tongue—mixed with the drops of his own blood caused by the bites of his teeth—and he gnawed on its aftertaste as he slammed the door to Hisanori's office wide open.

There, inside the white-washed walls, seated on the plush reclining chair behind a large desk, was the smiling principal.

"We have a problem." Eishi's tone was curt, straight to the point, and Hisanori, as expected, merely raised an amused brow.

"Oh? It has been a while since your last visit, and now you say we have a problem? Come, take a seat."

Eishi growled at the hospitable gesture. Politeness be damned.

"The foreigner hanged himself," he spat, blatantly ignoring Hisanori's kindness.

"And this is a problem, _how?_"

"No one was seen entering his cell for the past two weeks. No guard even went past the opened bars. How he managed to acquire a rope is—"

"Did he hide it within his clothes, perhaps?" Hisanori quipped, a raised palm faced the uncharacteristically distraught Eishi.

A quick shake of his head was his reply. "No such thing could have happened. We checked the footage of the cameras within and outside of the cells—nothing suspicious of the sort happened."

"And why, pray tell, did you come to me, again?"

The question was delivered with a soft voice, one that sounded not like the principal.

It somehow made Eishi uncomfortable.

"...Nougami told me that you must have something to do with it."

He heard a huff from the smiling man, and Hisanori stood up to his full height, "So I see he still remains as sharp as ever." He looked at this man, this school principal that seemed to be uttering confusing words.

Hisanori opened his eyes, black slits staring straight at the police officer.

"I ordered to have him killed—just as how he deduced."

The blood from Eishi's face fell.

* * *

><p>Mutsuki toyed with her newest stiletto knife, eyeing a picture of a burly man ripping his hair out as she flicked the shiny blade with her fingers. It was a rather blurred shot, but she couldn't be choosy.<p>

The phone in her room rang, and she answered it with her usual chirpy voice.

"Miyasako residence! How can I—oh. Hisanori-_jii_. Hi!"

The man on the other line spoke in hushed tones, and Mutsuki hummed and nodded. "He is safe, for now. I must say, Neuro-_nii_ knows everything. I doubt he knows that _that person_ is with us."

* * *

><p><em>Keishichou<em> was in chaos. Everywhere, people were either calmly talking or yelling on the phones, some were passing folders and files from department to department, some were silently grunting to themselves, ruffling away their hair or groaning in their hands in frustration.

"Sir, calls are pouring in from Shibuya! They want to know what happened to the person who got killed yesterday!" yelled one officer to a shocked Eishi, who had just returned from his visit to Hisanori.

"Nothing was supposed to be leaked," he gruffly muttered to a panicking Jun, who was profusely bowing over talking to someone on the phone.

Shizuka ran towards the superintendent's office, bearing a box filled with folders and envelopes containing confidential files of victims and kidnappers for the past 15 years.

Eishi groaned, and his eyes settled on an agitated Yako, who looked calm despite the chaos around her. She was answering calls in her office—with a phone held on each ear, plus the answering machine and the fax machine—from who-knows-where, a job that she normally didn't do, and behind her was a tight-lipped and poker-faced Neuro, who was quickly scanning file after file on the folders and envelopes neatly stacked on the desk.

Eishi cleared his throat and knocked on the open door, "What just happened?" He was suddenly at a loss on what was reality and what wasn't, and taking a quick glance at those striking green eyes only cemented the fact that Neuro was currently not in the mood to talk.

"Tubulik killed himself. That's what happened. Someone spilled it to the media and now they're clawing at every scoop they can get." His voice was deep and cold, unlike the times when he would greet Eishi with a cheerful façade and an equally cheerful voice.

Yako paid Eishi no heed, as she was too busy explaining and apologizing to the parents and family members of the victims on the other line—those whose children were kidnapped and sold by one Jody Tubulik. Among them were parents and classmates from Yako and Neuro's high school, demanding her to tell them what just happened.

She growled in frustration when one caller dared to call her a "worthless clerk"—

"_I'm not a clerk!_ Ugh—Neuro! Help me here!"

Neuro turned his attention on her for a fraction of a second, and he wordlessly went over to the bunched up telephone lines—

—and he plugged all of them out with one hand.

"Neuro—! What on earth—"

"You don't have to answer those shitty rumor-mongers. You're here to investigate. Help me find that kid."

Eishi didn't know what they were talking about, but Yako, as he expected, stood and sighed, and she nodded gravely at Neuro.

* * *

><p><em>Things are going not the way I want it to<em>.

Neuro sped up his minivan, occasionally glancing at the passenger's seat to check if Yako was still alive.

He was hell-bent on reaching the maximum speed limit just to find someone whom he had no clue where to search for.

"Yako. Check all contacts in that list. Everyone who is involved in the case. I'm pretty sure that he didn't commit suicide. Someone murdered the damn Corpse."

She snorted as she scrolled down her phone for all her contacts. "Well, _now_ he's a real corpse."

"He wasn't supposed to die. Not yet. Until I see him on the public hanging—that's the way I imagined his death to be."

Brown eyes didn't stray from her phone, "Well, I can't say I'm completely relieved. I mean, you hate him more than I do. _I_ should be the one to hate him for—"

"Have I told you who the mastermind is behind your kidnapping?"

At this, Yako looked at him, his face all grim and tired-looking. He seemed to grow older since the past few weeks. "No. Why? Did you found anything?" He didn't reply. She sighed, "Besides, those kidnappers are rotting behind bars and—"

"Those are just puppets. Bent to the mastermind's whim."

"Eh?"

He casted her a sidelong glance, those green eyes slitted and dark. "The mastermind behind those kidnappings—along with the kidnappings around Shibuya recently—was that Corpse."

* * *

><p>Police surrounded the Miyasako estate, and inside the vast mansion, Jun and Eishi were trudging towards the living room, where sounds from the TV were heard.<p>

And there was Mutsuki, sweet little Mutsuki, toying with a stiletto knife.

"Oh, hi Officers!" she greeted with her usual smile.

At the back of Jun's mind, he could swear that she was a long-lost relative of Neuro's.

Eishi coughed at having to run earlier towards where she was now. The smoking habit taking its toll on him, but he paid it no heed. "Mutsuki, where is he?" He didn't have to elaborate who he was talking about.

There was a tense silence for a few moments, and her eyes turned a darker shade as she looked at the silver-haired man. "He is not here."

* * *

><p>Aya cleaned the tables with much enthusiasm as usual. Humming to herself, she looked up when the chime of the door echoed from the entrance.<p>

"Welcome!" she greeted the customer, a boy by the looks of it, with a broad smile. "Come in, come in!"

The oddly-dressed male sported a scarf around his neck, and a sweater on his lanky frame, despite the still warm weather. Aya took no notice of it, though she was wary when the male simply sat towards the table that Aya led him to.

"Here is the menu for today, sir." Her voice fell just a tad, and she hoped he hadn't noticed it.

The black-haired male silently took the proffered menu and nodded. He had yet to speak a word.

Aya forced a smile and bowed, and not long after, she left, eyeing him with a suspicious glance every now and then as she served other customers.

Time slowly passed, and it had been ten minutes since the silent customer entered the ramen house.

He had yet to make an order. And he was staring at the menu for too long.

Aya made her way towards the back of the cash register and took out her phone.

Something gnawed at her, making her feel uneasy as she looked at this odd customer.

She was about to call someone on the phone when the door opened once more.

"Yo, Aya!"

The customer slid his eyes towards the newcomer, and his eyes sparked rage.

Aya saw it all.

"H-Higuchi-_san_, c-can I talk to you for a minute?" Her words were barely articulated, which was something unusual for the usually composed woman.

Yuuya, as odd her request was, simply shrugged and nodded, and she led him towards the back of the counter—

—only to have the strange customer flipping out the condiments on the table, crashing the bottles of ketchup on the floor.

Some of the customers and servers looked at the ruckus, and Yuuya and Aya looked at a standing and wide-eyed Vijaya.

"He's been sitting there all tense the whole time," Aya whispered as realization dawned on Yuuya's eyes as he took a quick glance at the Indian's face.

Yuuya fumbled for something in his pocket, not taking his eyes off the boy at the same time, and Vijaya tensed as he backed away from the seat. The bespectacled man clenched his teeth. "That's—!"

And Vijaya sprinted towards the door, and Yuuya speedily went after him, leaving Aya alone, blinking at what just happened.

Down the streets went the wild-goose chase. The Indian and the Japanese ran hurriedly, the former fleeing away while the latter yelled out—

"Stop! Police!"

And Vijaya paid Yuuya no heed. The Indian went past the streets dodging every person he passed by, yet Yuuya was hot on his heels.

Panting by the time he got to his familiar refuge—a dingy alley near a café—he quickly looked around and assessed his surroundings. A thick wall he could climb on, some trash dumps. Two electric poles.

The sounds of frantically stomping feet resounded not from afar, and Vijaya instinctively climbed the pole.

"Stop!" Yuuya called, and by now, his pistol was aimed straight at Vijaya's head, ready to shoot and kill.

His warning had no effect, however, as Vijaya continued to climb like an adept tree climber, his lanky feet bringing him upwards towards the edge of the wall—

A shot rang out, hitting Vijaya on the base of his foot. He hissed and ignored the burning pain shooting up his body—_not now_.

Another shot rang out, and this time, the bullet hit the back of his palm.

A grunt slipped past Vijaya's lips, yet he went on even as another bullet stung his calf—

—he was on the wall now, all he had to do was get to the other side and slide down.

Straight to a table that went crashing down to the ground with a loud clang from chinaware and silverware alike, along with the sickening crack of wood—

The loud screams of frustration from Yuuya, who was still on the other side of the wall, shook Vijaya's body with much relief. He was free—!

"Hey, whaddya think yer doing, ya punk?"

Vijaya groaned and weakly stumbled to sit up. He could feel the blood rushing straight to his back and—

—he was lifted upwards by the collar of his baggy jacket, away from the broken table and shattered glasses and plates and mashed-up food.

He gasped and groaned in pain as he suddenly felt numbness seeping from his feet—

"Gah—"

Wide eyes cracked open—and he was staring face-to-face with a very irate and seething Godai Shinobu.

Shinobu madly shook the wraith-like boy in his death grip, and a large fist was poised high above his head as colorful words of swearing tumbled past his pierced lips. "What the fuck are ya gonna do to my food now, ya sorry piece of shi—!"

Vijaya tried to shrink away and he snapped his eyes shut, and he waited for the incoming fist that was surely going to break his nose.

He waited. And waited.

The sound of his nose cracking never echoed in his ears.

Vijaya almost whimpered as he struggled to open one eye and see what just happened—

Shinobu's fist that was surely to collide on Vijaya's face was stopped by another hand. And the feeling of relief flooded within the Indian boy for the second time—

—only for that relief to turn into cold fear as he turned his eyes to his would-be savior.

"Now, now, Godai. I told you before that violence is not the answer to everything."

Shinobu growled and yelled at the smiling intruder, "Shutthefuckup, Monster! This brat wasted my damn food and I want his life to pay for it!"

The intruder, a wide-eyed and broadly smiling Neuro, merely huffed and smirked at the bloodied Vijaya. Green eyes glanced at Vijaya's blood-caked hand, and Neuro showed him a large, fanged grin.

"Yako and I were just passing by the area searching for a _certain someone_, and here you are!" Neuro leered and loomed over the fear-stricken boy, emerald-onyx eyes large and intimidating as he brushed his nose over Vijaya's.

"Quite fresh and ripe for the taking."

It was the first time that Vijaya saw the man to be so _frightening_. Sure, he saw him looking as though he was out for blood during the former teacher's inquisition, but never had Vijaya seen Neuro with this _insane_ look.

It looked as though he was about to commit murder.

"Neuro! Where did you run off t—oh. He's actually here." Yako appeared behind the slightly growling Shinobu. The girl looked out of breath, with her hair slightly matted on her brow. She breathlessly clung onto Neuro's sleeve, and willed herself to regain composure.

Neuro huffed, and looked at the Indian boy with mockery. "Do use your head this time, Godai. I expect to see results." He glanced at the bleach-haired man, and Shinobu realized what Neuro meant. And with that, he carried Yako by her stomach, and he left.

"Is it all right to leave him? You were bent on killing him there and then," Yako observed, feigning ignorance at the people who were looking at her strangely. Being carried around like a potato sack by a towering man definitely wasn't a form of gallantry, but Yako had gotten used to it so much that she didn't care anymore what other people might think.

Though she swore she could feel a bit of draft seeping through her skirt.

"Godai will return him to the station. I'm sure of it. Though, I'm not so sure about how many bones he will break," he grinned, and they returned to the car.

From afar, Shinobu watched the odd pair with a strange fascination. He really didn't know what was running inside Neuro's mind—or Yako's, either (_I can see her underwear_)—but one thing's for sure...

A feral grin crossed his face as he looked at a still quivering Vijaya.

"Time to pay up for my food, you brat."

A sickening crunch echoed within the open café.

* * *

><p>Mutsuki happily picked up her phone. It had been an hour since the police left. It was a good thing her grandfather wasn't around the house, or there would be some... problems.<p>

Looking around to see if there was any servant loitering around, Mutsuki shrugged and talked on the phone.

"Ah, Gocchan! Hi! Why did you—oh. Well, it's a big help to the police, they just came here—eh? Yukkichi and I have plans for him, but it's fine if you bring him to them. Hisanori-_jii_ wants him, though. He'll be up for trial."

She heard Shinobu groan on the other line, and with a lilting giggle, she bid him a cheerful goodbye and hung up the phone.

"The trial will start very soon," she mumbled to no one in particular.

With an eerie little smile, she happily skipped towards her bedroom, humming a song about the Resistance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I chose the name _Yukie_ as a combination of Yukinori and Kanae's names together, and I got the name for "a painting of snow". Given the name, I chose it as a gender-neutral name, so readers could freely think of what gender the child could be.

Looks like NeuYako's wedding will be delayed. :x


	30. Judicium

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirty: Judicium<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Keishichou<em> had been getting busier and busier lately, with the current and widely-publicized case of the death of a foreigner, and with the trial of one Chandra Aska Rsunawala, the 20-year-old killer, everyone had little to no time for themselves.

Media were restlessly scavenging around the police stations, vying to get the latest news about the case.

"The prosecution is good, at least. Whoever is trying to defend that snot-nosed brat is a lunatic," Neuro idly hummed as he peered through the blinds from his office. From the main entrance, media and cameramen were trying to get through the doors, and guards were doing their best to keep the frenzied paparazzi at bay.

"His attorney is an Indian, too. I think it stems from the defense being of same blood as the defendant." Yako sighed as she sipped on her coffee. She barely had any time to take a break and eat. With all the mayhem that had been happening lately, the most she could eat during her work hours was a cup of coffee and two bags of burgers and hotdogs from the nearby fast-food chain. Neuro, on the other hand, still had yet to take a break.

"You need to take a rest, you know. Your eyes are getting tired from all that staring you've been doing on the computer."

"I need pork buns, at least. Not that fast-food crap." And he glared at the PC screen once more, collecting data upon data of incriminating evidence against Vijaya.

It had been four days since Shinobu had dropped Vijaya off the station. The Indian had been bloodied and injured. It wasn't until Yuuya had arrived running to the headquarters just to report that he had spotted the criminal—and it all went downhill from there.

Names that weren't supposed to be involved with the case started popping up. Evidence started piling up. Security in the prison cells started to heighten its defenses. Inquisition sessions became much longer than usual.

And it was just damn _stressful_.

Neuro took a deep breath and let the smell of food waft through his nostrils. His stomach grumbled in complaint, and he sighed, burying his face in his palms.

He heard the door open, and the shuffle of plastic rustled his hearing.

"Here," Yako cooed with a smile, and she handed him three bagfuls of pork buns, just as he wished for.

"When did you—"

"I left earlier when you were too busy looking at that screen," she drawled with a nonchalant shrug, and she went back to her seat and idly chewed on a celery stick that she had stashed earlier from home—something to calm her down, Neuro assumed.

He mumbled his thanks and took one bun, smiling when he saw two cans of iced coffee from one of the bags.

"After all this trial nonsense, we're going to take a well-deserved break," and he gobbled up his food, uncaring for his lack of manners.

"I won't complain to that," Yako laughed weakly, and unbeknownst to her, Neuro was idly fumbling with the little box he had been keeping in his pocket.

It was his way of calming down.

He planned to finally ask her hand in marr—

"Yo, you two! Trial's about to start! We must take some seats before the media gets 'em!" Jun excitedly yelled out, popping in from the door with another action figure in his hands. The childish man was practically bouncing on his feet.

Neuro and Yako wordlessly looked at each other, and they both heaved a deep, resigned sigh.

"Yes, yes. We're coming, we're coming," they weakly grumbled in unison.

* * *

><p>Whispers and wordless glares were sent Vijaya's way as he awkwardly stood on the witness stand. Trial had been going on for half an hour, and yet his own lawyer was being too self-absorbed to care.<p>

He was losing his case.

Another banging from the judge's gavel, and the courtroom slid into silence.

From the cacophony of hushed tones, Vijaya could make out one comment: "He shouldn't be standing there."

He wanted to look behind him and see who those people were. But he couldn't.

From behind him, Neuro, Yako, Jun, Eishi, Naohiro, Shizuka, and some officers were seated, their faces void of emotion as the prosecution spoke up.

Not long after, a bellowing cry from a red-haired woman startled the room.

Yako assumed it was Jennifer's mother, who had flown all the way from Scotland.

Accusation upon accusation were thrown between the two parties, both of them raising their voices against the other, and by the time the trial had ended up for the day, everyone was ready to come up with more incriminating evidence against the other.

Once everyone had filed out of the courtroom, Neuro and Yako walked slowly compared to the others, the two of them speaking German in hushed whispers—so no one would know what they were talking about.

Shizuka caught on when she realized that the two were walking slowly behind her, and she tried to strain her ears on hearing them speak, but it was futile. The crowd was too noisy.

* * *

><p>It was already nearing September, and the much-awaited trial of the people of Shibuya had finally gotten a conclusion.<p>

Guilty.

Vijaya had pleaded guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

He was convicted of killing the two foreigners, one Jennifer Ewing, and one Jody Tubulik. His reason? Jealousy over who would be the Turk's favorite. And when that Turk had chosen Jennifer as his favorite "toy"—Vijaya had snapped.

It had taken a matter of time before the Indian had spilled everything to the police. With Neuro's unconventional and uncouth ways of making people talk, Vijaya had finally slipped out every single thing he knew about the whole thing. The kidnappings, the human trafficking, the kids Jody sold for slavery and prostitution. Heck, he even told them about Hisanori's involvement in the killing—on how Vijaya _volunteered_ to kill the Turk, upon Hisanori's suggestion. The principal, though, had plans up his sleeve so his name wouldn't be caught once more.

That wise and sneaky bastard.

And when all was said and done, when the final ring of the gavel echoed in the air, Vijaya had bid everyone a sad farewell from the courtroom. His parting words, though, haunted the courtroom's ears.

"Shiva had heard my pleas, and I had finished the will of heaven."

And he was handcuffed and taken away by the bailiff.

From afar, a silently observant Yako could tell that Vijaya wept for himself.

She frowned.

* * *

><p>Her hair clips were turned off for today, though her choker was gleaming straight at the object it was currently observing.<p>

A glass window. And a white door.

Yako primly sat on the cold chair, her head held high and her shoulders squared as she idly tapped her fingers on her knees.

The guard who was standing by the door on the other side was staring straight ahead, the perfect epitome of a soldier, and Yako was slightly fascinated by his perfect stature. She was startled by the sudden sight of the door opening quite slowly.

From the other side, Vijaya bowed meekly, and a little smile graced his slightly chapped lips. He looked like he had seen better days when his frail-looking body sat on the chair and faced her through the thick glass pane.

He pressed the button sitting in front of him, and he heaved a wrecking breath.

"Hello, Miss Detective."

Yako gave him a warm smile and bowed slightly, "Hello, Vijaya-_san_. Have you been feeling well lately? It is getting rather chilly now."

Vijaya laughed meekly, and it sounded more like a heaving cough to Yako. She forced herself not to wince at the sound.

"I am fine, Miss. Just down with a little flu. They're giving me the proper care I need, I assure you." He added the last part as an afterthought upon seeing Yako visibly tense up. He chuckled, "Why? Do you care about me, Miss?"

Yako's shoulders sagged and she sighed in relief, "Well, you _were_ under our care before, so yes, I could say I care."

He smiled, and he choked down a rattling cough, "You and that guy _did_ take care of me, despite the crude things he said to me before. You were there to calm both of us down. As expected of you."

Yako solemnly nodded, and she felt her heart puff up with pride at his words, and shoulders straightened once more. "I do that to him most of the time. Though, there are times that it's _he_ who tries hard to calm me down."

Vijaya looked at her with an amused expression, his brows were raised at her words. "_He_ tries to calm you down? I could hardly imagine that. I see it the other way around. That guy could hardly keep his marbles in check whenever he notices you gone for more than hour in the office. Oh? I take that surprised face of yours as proof that he never told you anything about that?"

Yako blinked, and laughed as she shook her head, "No, no he never told me anything. But I expected that from him. He had always been that way towards me."

He hummed, "Really? I heard from one of your colleagues that it was because of what that Corpse did before... That _is_ what you call the guy, right? 'The Corpse'?"

Yako snorted and looked away, smiling sadly, still. "Yes, it's exactly what you said," and she forlornly looked at the switch in front of her, and Vijaya noticed that her eyes slowly turned just a tad darker than earlier. "It had been 15 years since then. And yet, he still couldn't move on from that day. That I wasn't the little girl he found in that place, all bound and gagged, trapped inside that bag—I'm not that little girl anymore."

Vijaya huffed and leaned back on his chair, crossing his arms as he looked away, "I wouldn't blame the guy. You were supposed to be shipped to who-knows-where. The girls that were to be put in boxes were to be shipped just within the country. The ones that were put inside the plastic bags—those were to be shipped overseas. That was his pattern. And he uses lots of minions to do his dirty work—me included, until recently." Black eyes glanced at Yako once more, and he saw her still looking down, her lips frowning, void of her usual smile. He bit his inner cheek and waved his hand dismissively.

"Though I know that that husband-to-be of yours could be more than a handful to handle, he knows how to take care of you. In his own freaky way, I think."

For a reason that he couldn't fathom, Vijaya was sure that he felt a rush of happiness when he saw her smile as she wiped a mirthful tear from her eye.

"I am now at peace, Miss Detective. For I know I am making progress in my repentance."

* * *

><p>"What took you so long, you worm-brained piglet? I'm freezing my balls in here," Neuro drawled as Yako slipped into the car. It was now November, and the winds were becoming much colder as days passed by.<p>

It was also the time when Neuro would be moody about the icy cold weather.

"Aw, shut up, silly. The heater's on, anyway. Besides, I've only been in there for 20 minutes. Yes, I counted. Don't give me that sharp look," and Yako fastened her seat belt with a cheerful smile.

Neuro eyed her still, blinking when he noticed her demeanor was in high spirits than earlier when she entered the prison.

"I take it your conversation with him went well?" he asked, and when he saw her nod, he sighed. "That's good. As long as he didn't say anything to offend you, that's fine. Because—"

"You're the only one who should offend me, I know," she giggled, and he let out a laugh as he placed a kiss on her lips.

"How about we buy some groceries while we're on our way? Maybe even some new toys for you to play with? Some leather collars and silk blindfolds would do nice, don't you think?"

The suggestive remark dripping from his voice made Yako blush and stammer out a weak, "S-suit yourself." And Neuro guffawed.

* * *

><p>"Eh? A break? You two are going to take a <em>break<em> for two weeks?" Jun exclaimed, slamming his fists on the desk as he stared at his two former students. Neuro and Yako wordlessly nodded. Jun bemoaned, clearly upset, "But we're on another case! You two can't just—"

Eishi sighed and regarded Jun carefully, "Let them be. We all need a break from time to time. You talked to the superintendent earlier, right? So it's just fine. You two did a job well done on the last case, so both of you deserve it." And Eishi sighed as he took out an unlit cigarette and chewed on the end of it, ignoring Jun's yelping cries of giving _him_ a break.

Yako giggled and thanked her superiors, and she happily went away with a smiling Neuro, and she silently laughed at Jun who was bickering with Eishi—like an old married couple.

* * *

><p>Neuro's idea of a two-week break consisted of nothing but spending time with his Little Maggot—it was all to give themselves some release from the pent up stress for the past few weeks. He did all that he could just to convince Yako's parents to let her stay over with him for two weeks. "It was for an investigation for a new case," he had reasoned. And they had merely shrugged and let her go.<p>

It was midnight, and they were bathed in the glow of the silent and ever-watching moon.

Her pleasing body bended and sang to his every whim. At each feather-light touch his fingertips caressed, her searing skin curled and yearned for him. Her spine arched and surrendered. Her toes coiled as a moist and adept tongue lapped at the sticky honey trickling down her sensitive flesh.

His warm and honey-coated lips hummed on a jutting bone from her hip, and its vibrations sent liquid heat straight between her legs, and her whole body pooled a burning desire for him.

In the darkness and privacy of his own room, Neuro freely did what could to please himself, and he freely did what could just to please _her_.

Her metal shackles rattled against the headboard as Yako felt something wet and sticky pouring down her waiting sex. Tiny knuckles turned as white as the sheets she laid on, as she felt large hands grabbing firmly onto her fleshy thighs, and she heard the sounds of wild sucking, and she felt that ever talented tongue and mouth coating her completely with his want and need.

A long and low keen slithered lustfully from her parched and tingling lips, and as she felt the tip of his tongue probing into her innermost core, she sloppily mimicked his actions—her own tongue lapped around her own lips, coating them in a light sheen of saliva.

He sucked on her pink and moist folds, his greedy mouth and tongue covering every inch of her carnal need as she sighed, and when he circled his flat tongue around her little pearl, he had to pin down her legs just to stop them from bucking into him too much.

She loudly came as soon as he touched the little peaks on her perky breasts, and Neuro felt her quivering toes sliding down his broad back with much restraint. Her head thrashed around, desperate to let out wave after wave of her ample liquid heat. Wheat-hued locks fanned around her head, framing her blushing face quite nicely.

It had been a while since they have ceaselessly indulged in themselves, and both parties were already too consumed with each other's body heat to care about anything else.

She returned the favor by blindly and shakily touching him, her tentative but firm strokes on his too attentive length had Neuro panting in a matter of minutes.

Yako gulped and bit her lower lip as she freely imagined what her fiancé looked like once he was fully nude. She ardently concentrated on the feel of the warm and pulsating muscle in her dainty hand, and she mentally guessed the size of his length. Six and a half inches? Seven? She couldn't really tell—but she did know that she was doing a pretty good job at keeping him panting senselessly. She could hear the minute grunts and occasional jerking of his hips on her hand, and she blindly ran the nails of her left hand on his right thigh—

And he grumbled out a curse as he came hotly on her unprepared hand, drenching her digits and palm and stomach with his dripping seed.

Yako, fully grasping the situation in seconds, wasted no time in blindly licking off every bit of the rapidly cooling liquid on her skin.

She took in everything until the last drop rather noisily, and as enthusiastically as she could, she languidly teased him with her come-filled mouth and lips, knowing fully well that he was watching her intently with his all-too-piercing gaze.

She swallowed his come lazily, and she stuck out her tongue at him, and she let out a muffled yelp when she felt Neuro's tongue toying with her own.

They kissed passionately, tasting their selves as their bodies arched towards each other, both aching for a dying need.

She felt her shackles finally being unlocked from her, and she wasted no time as she instantly wound her shaky fingers on his wild, black-blond hair. And he briefly opened his eyes to see a close-eyed, flushed and needy Yako kissing him back with much fervor.

A rush of memories came crashing down on him like an unyielding wave. Neuro held her tight in his arms as he kissed her, as though it was to assure himself that Yako was truly there with him, keeping him sane and intact.

She wasn't the bound and captive girl in his dreams anymore, the girl that seemed to eternally haunt his nights for more than a decade.

He visibly relaxed in her heated hold and warm kisses.

No. She wasn't that little girl anymore.

His hands tightened around her waist and the back of her head, and steadily felt her welcoming body heat. He felt her well-formed breasts being squeezed in between them, and she sighed contentedly in his mouth.

She was now a woman, Neuro mused. A woman that he had been protecting after all these years with much zeal. This woman, who had managed to slowly worm her way into his cold-hearted self, and had taken a permanent lodging there—

A soft and almost breathless whisper swept over his ear. "I love you, Neuro," and she smiled on his neck.

He gently smoothed out and patted her wild locks, and he nuzzled her close, kissing her forehead as he did so.

_I have fallen for her. This little human of mine_.

He fell limply on top of her, his mind too dulled and intoxicated with her quite filling warmth.

In between their soundless murmurs of goodnight, he smiled to himself as he drifted to sleep.

_She's no longer an obligation anymore._

* * *

><p>Mutsuki made it a task to visit Yako's house every week since she took over her grandfather's toy company three years ago.<p>

And today was one of Mutsuki's visits.

She was happily seated on top of Yako's bed, swaying her socked feet on the edge rather childishly. She had yet to grow taller than Yako.

"Kana-_nee_ will be here any minute with Yukkichi and little Yukie. They said they wanted to show their child your book collection. Oh, by the way, Neuro-_nii_, I wonder why your name wasn't disclosed in the court hearings? Though you were mentioned in the case of the kidnappings 15 years ago, and also the time when you were stabbed, you weren't mentioned in the part where you entered his cell two weeks before his death."

Neuro laughed dryly as he placed his newly-bought books on the third shelf (also newly-bought), "It was all for the best. Besides, I was careful not to let anyone see me that day. It's a hush-hush situation, Miyasako-_san_. I would prefer if you rather not say anything of this. Besides, Hayasaka-_san_'s name was also supposed to be mentioned, right? But we heard no trace of his name after the scandal in his school. So it's fair to keep silent on this, yes? Since you consider him your uncle and all." He faced Mutsuki, and smirked wryly as she motioned her thumb and index finger across her lips. He grinned and nodded it return.

The sound of heavy footsteps was heard from outside, and a panting and soot-faced Yako slammed the door open, yelling out incoherencies.

Neuro and Mutsuki could only make out random words—_mother, smoke, cake_, and _kitchen_.

And Yako stomped her feet as she yelled out something about her mother burning down another batch of cake batter right on the stove.

* * *

><p>Twenty-five years.<p>

Yako had been living for 25 years.

She had known Neuro for 18 years. And she knew it was very odd for him to suggest that they should visit the playground near their elementary school. It was out of the blue, indeed.

Yako was sitting on a swing that was clearly too small for her, and Neuro, who was a spectator leaning on one of the bars that held the swings upright, joked that the poor structure would fall if she swung too much. She only stuck out her tongue at him.

Everything in the playground was still exactly as Neuro remembered. The red-colored slides by the large sandbox. The two pairs of see-saws near the swings. The large concrete cylinder. He smiled at the last one.

It was the place that he and Yako used to go to whenever they would skip cleaning duty.

He chuckled at the memory, and the sound didn't escape Yako's hearing.

"I just remembered what we did back then," he supplied, knowing that her large brown eyes were quizzically on him. "We'd always go through that thing and hide whenever we felt that we'd rather skip cleaning duty than skip dinner."

Yako laughed. Remembering the times when she would yield to Neuro's random bouts of impishness always lead to surprises. "And then while we're in hiding, you would always pull on my cheeks just to try and test me if I would cry—I always kept silent and teary-eyed because you told me back then that if I cry, bad things will happen to my tummy."

Neuro stifled a smile, and his eyes softened as the orange glow of the sun touched his eyes.

"Everything here looks so small now—and to think, when we were seven, this used to be the biggest place in the world for us..."

His words were barely audible, and Yako sensed that he was in a current state of longing and nostalgia—it was the same trail of thought as hers.

He walked up to the concrete cylinder, humming as he put his hands on his pockets and bent low as he peeked inside.

"I could barely fit in here now if I wanted to..."

Yako giggled at his child-like curiosity. He could be a child in a fully-grown man's body from time to time.

She stifled her laughter bubbling from within her as Neuro knelt and knocked on the inside of the rough concrete and yelled a loud, "hello!" and he was amused upon hearing the loud echo reverberating in his ears.

"Yako!" he exclaimed, facing her with much delight. "It's still the same!" And he tried to fit himself in it, frowning and puffing his cheeks when he realized he could no longer enter the cylinder as freely as he could before.

Humming in mild disappointment, he decided to just sit on the edge of the inside of the cylinder, frowning even more when he could feel the roughness of the concrete chafing on his blue pants. He scanned the playground with newfound interest, and from Yako's point of view, he was looking very much like a puppy that was ready to explore the world.

She stood up and made her way over to him, crouching down in front of him with a smile.

"Everything here didn't change. I somehow feel envious of these inanimate objects."

He chuckled and pinched her nose and cheeks quite harshly, ignoring her squeals of pain, "Silly Snout-Face. If we didn't change, do you think we could have made a step of progress about the way that we are now?"

He observed her minute pout and her reddened nose and cheeks, and he watched as that minute pout slowly turned into a wide beam of joy as he cupped her cheek.

She had become his sanity when all else failed him. She had become his stronghold when he was on the verge of collapse. She had become his flaming hearth when his own kin had left him freezing cold from the inside.

She had become his everything without him even knowing it.

And it all started when they had first met, when they had bumped into each other here on this very playground.

A lingering kiss was gently placed on her brow, and when he looked into her wide brown eyes, he smiled as he leaned his forehead on hers and whispered to her lips—

"Yako, let's get married."

* * *

><p>Shortest chapter I have ever made for this fic. And at 4,300 words~! (=w=)~<p> 


	31. Nuptiae

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

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><p><strong>AN: T**o WeWeSoExcited, the reason the chapters are getting shorter is because I noticed reviewers are getting fewer as chapters go on, thus leading me to assume that they must have hate me for having to put up ubberly long chapters on every update. So I sliced off things in the recent chapters. From 10,000 words, to 9,000, to 8,900, to 8,800, to 6,300, to 4,300. And it seems to be working well. At least the views are now matching up with the reviews.

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirty-One: Nuptiae<strong>

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><p>Such was the convenient yet tiring nature of legal marriages in Japan, Neuro mused with an appreciative smile.<p>

There was no need for a wedding ceremony at all, as it wasn't really a necessary thing to do about marriages in the country.

In Japan, civil marriage registrations come first―there's really no need for a wedding ceremony, those are only for show and not really needed for a legal marriage, as a white-clad Neuro said to an equally white-clad and beaming Yako.

Their certified copies of family registers were already been given, the Affidavit of Competency to Marry was signed, plus signing of more paperwork by both the witnesses, Hayasaka Hisanori and Noma Kaoruko, and by the couple themselves.

Vows were said and repeated by the couple, and the kind superintendent, a bespectacled little old man who was performing the marriage with well-rehearsed lines, nodded and smiled upon saying to Neuro, "You may now kiss the bride."

The black-blond man did just as so with a barely-contained smile, revealing his fanged teeth to a widely grinning Yako, and he chastely kissed her on the forehead―_it's my sign of respect for her, after all_―and not from afar, he could hear muffled sniffling from Haruka and Zera.

He felt Yako gently squeezing his arm as he pulled away with a wide smile, it was her way of saying she wanted more, it seemed.

Once the marriage procedures was said and done, and loud bawling erupted from Haruka and Zera (Seiichi and Miwako merely shed a silent tear), Neuro and Yako signed their final document, the Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Marriage―the document that would prove to the world that they were now husband and wife.

Yako could barely keep her happiness in check, and once the form was filled out, she hugged Neuro tightly with a little squeal; Neuro reciprocated by squeezing her lithe body with his long arms, and he nuzzled his cheek on top of her head.

We are now husband and wife, Neuro and Yako mused with broad smiles on their faces as they thanked the superintendent with deep bows and embraced their family and shook the hands of the witnesses.

"Congratulations, you two. I always knew you will end up with her," Hisanori said with a smile as he patted Neuro on the back. "Ever since the day you two entered my school, I had this... hunch that you will never let her out of your sights―and you never did. Heh, and look at you now! Already married the girl you had always protected."

Neuro laughed and scratched his head, abashed at the rush of elation he was feeling at the moment. "I never did let Yako out of my sight. She's... too precious for me, Hayasaka-_san_," he mumbled almost abashedly, leaning close to Hisanori as to not let Yako hear it. Even if Neuro was slowly opening up to people, he could still feel bile rising from his throat whenever he would say things he considered to be too sappy.

Hisanori let out a hearty laugh and roughly patted Neuro on the chest, "Easy now, newly-wedded one. Marriage _can_ make you sappy, and at the same time, it makes you feel like a knight protecting his own kingdom. Your kingdom being the woman you married." He shrugged nonchalantly, "Or so I've heard. I never got married, anyway. Noma-_san_ didn't marry either." He curtly whispered to his ear with a smirk, glancing at Kaoruko as he spoke, "Her standards are very high."

Neuro failed to hear half of what Hisanori just said, as he couldn't stop the grin that splitted his face, when he gazed at Yako, who was talking to Kaoruko with lighthearted giggles, his dark green eyes _almost_ brimmed with tears.

He had always been waiting for this day to come―to finally marry her and make her his for the rest of his days.

"Neuro is now my husband!" Yako proclaimed to a happily bawling Zera with much joy, and in that moment―

―the cold heart that cruelly trapped Neuro for so long, was finally melted by her mere words.

It was the tenth of March when they were born.

And it was also the day that they got married.

Neuro smiled to himself.

A very memorable day, it was.

_She's now mine._

* * *

><p>Yako was now preparing to move out of the home that housed her for 25 years.<p>

Haruka pleaded her only daughter, her only little girl, to delay her adieu, and Seiichi tried his best to convince his daughter and son-in-law to simply remain in the house as they have always been―Neuro was considered a family since he was eleven, after all.

Yet Yako gently turned down her parents' offer to remain. I don't belong to my Mother and Father anymore, she said to a teary-eyed Haruka. And Neuro merely gave them a sad smile as he silently watched the bittersweet exchange of the family of three.

Miwako also shed tears for the newlyweds; she had been doing so for the past few days. It was hard enough that she finally saw her formerly little "children" grow up to be fine individuals and fall in love, but for her to also witness their leaving of the house that kept them close for all these years―it was too much for her to bear.

Yako sniffled and wiped a lone tear that slid down her eye, and she held her mother and father's hand.

"I will always be your little girl," Yako muttered with a choked cry. "Besides," she sniffled, "I will invite Mother and Father to our wedding ceremony."

And with that, Yako joined a solemnly smiling Neuro by the doorway, and he patted her head.

They looked at the Katsuragi couple and Miwako, and with wide smiles, they performed the kowtow―a rare gesture from today's modern couples.

It was Yako and Neuro's last day of being nurtured by the Katsuragi couple's never-ending care.

Haruka muffled her sobs.

* * *

><p>The list was getting endless.<p>

Some of the people on the first part of the list had taken a permanent place on top. Haruka, Seiichi, Miwako and Zera were top priorities, of course. Kanae was next, along with the Hayasaka brothers and little Yukie. Mutsuki, Shinobu (and his distant uncle that was the owner of the ramen store) and Aya followed them. Some of their colleagues in both high school (Noma Kaoruko, especially) and in their respective colleges were also there.

Next on the list was the bookstore owner that Neuro and Yako always frequented. They had long promised that the nice owner would be invited, after all. Not long after, the young couple decided to invite some of their closest neighbors—all of them from Yako's neighborhood—as said neighbors had always been kind to them since the two were just kids.

It took them almost a month just to finalize the whole list of guests.

Next was the preparation for the ceremony itself. There were some changes to be made compared to the actual events surrounding a typical traditional ceremony, as Neuro vehemently despised some (_most_) of the traditions in the event.

That could be arranged, as Yako had said.

Once the proper attire and desired design was met, the two of them decided that it was time to think of the venue for the ceremony itself.

One wanted it to be a beachside wedding, and one wanted it to be a traditional shrine wedding. But if there was one thing they agreed upon, it was that there should be an immense amount of food to accommodate their combined appetite―and also the appetite of the guests, of course.

A beach wedding sounded nice enough for Yako, and a shrine wedding sounded nice for Neuro―

In the end, they decided to have a shrine wedding―they both wanted it to remain traditional, after all―and have their honeymoon on the beach.

By the time September came, Yako was growing a bit restless from all the arrangements, and Neuro was occasionally on edge, though he kept it well-hidden behind a mask of calm. Stressing out would them both no good.

They were to have the wedding ceremony on the tenth month.

"Neuro, the practice for the wedding starts tomorrow and―"

A large yawn escaped Neuro's lips as he looked at the cold cases presented to him on the screen, and he waved nonchalantly at Yako. "Get your rest, then, piggy. Practice starts at ten and I don't need you fussing over me when time runs out."

Yako huffed and crossed her arms as she went over to him with a pout.

Neuro made no effort to look at her, "I can feel your hair dripping water on my back."

He heard a sigh, and a quick shuffle of cloth, and soon enough, he felt her lithe arms and bare chest wrapping around his weary form.

"I need Neuro to be with me..." she muttered through the shell of his ear, and she could tell that he was very much amused by what she was doing―that slight display of fanged teeth told her so.

"'Need', eh... Such a _strong_ word you just uttered, slave." Yet he did nothing to stop the snaking hands and exploring fingers around his shoulders and torso. He hummed in silent appreciation at her effort to please him. "Are you doing this for yourself?" he asked with a little smirk, and he felt very much pleased when she draped her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm doing this for us, you know," she retorted with another pout. "I want to make Neuro feel good, too―"

"Such a faithful slave, you are," and he pecked her cheek, letting her rest her head on his. "I'll just turn this off and―hey―! Yako―!"

"I'll just sit on your lap until your work is done." The tone in her voice was teasing, impish even, and Neuro couldn't help but chuckle and hold her tight instead.

Hot breath assaulted her ear, and a soundless gasp met Neuro's ears. "You're sitting on me, kitten. And you're quite naked beneath that skimpy towel of yours. Quite naked and sopping _wet_. Are you implying something, hm?"

Her ear was licked quite languidly, not to mention noisily, an act that made Yako quiver beneath his delightful touch. "N-nothing, Neuro. I just want to sit here―ah..."

A lone finger slipped beneath her flimsy towel, and Yako bit her lip. "Sto―ah―"

"You asked for it, kitten," he lustfully hissed on her sensitive nape, and it was the last thing she heard before he yanked the towel away from her completely.

* * *

><p>Traditions were to be changed on Yako and Neuro's wedding ceremony―and some people found it quite interesting, while some found it bizarre and borderline rude.<p>

It was Neuro's idea to scrap the whole "ghostly makeup and feudal wig" on Yako during the ceremony, and insisted that she should wear "simple makeup that wouldn't stick to anyone's face once someone kisses her." And it was Yako's idea to remove the candle-holding on the reception later on, much to Seiichi's shock. It was both Neuro and Yako's idea to scrap the sake drinking between the two families, as Neuro's parents weren't even going to the ceremony―there was no need to "strengthen bonds to," as Neuro had put it, as he himself told Zera that "Seiichi-_san_ and Haruka-_san_ are the only parents who raised me well."

Haruka, earlier during the practice for the ceremony, insisted that they should at least make Yako wear the veil and―

"Of _course_ I'll wear the veil, Mother," Yako simply said with a smile, and Haruka felt relieved after that.

It was rare that a couple would have the gall to deviate from the usual norms of the traditional ceremony. Then again, Neuro and Yako have been anything but traditional.

Before they knew it, the day of the ceremony came.

The sound of music echoed within the surroundings of Okazaki shrine. The shrill sounds of the _hocchiku, shakuhachi, yu, shinobue_, and _komabue_ reverberated in the air, giving the nature the image of peace and tranquility as the groom, the family members and the guests walked towards the shrine.

It was the seventh day of the tenth month, where autumn slowly seeps in.

And so now, Yako was slowly walking down the aisle of the shrine with her face hidden by the whiteness of her veil (called _wataboushi_), and her whole body decked in a pure white kimono, a _shiromuku_. Accompanying her halfway towards the front was a black kimono-clad and misty-eyed Haruka, and the two of them had an unspoken moment of both sadness and joy.

Flashes from the cameras temporarily blinded Yako. Even through the safety of her veil, she could see the intruding lights.

Haruka walked her daughter towards Neuro, who was standing there in front of the Shinto priest with a wide, tight-lipped smile.

She parted the veil that concealed Yako's face, and her daughter smiled joyfully at her.

With a strained smile, she kissed her daughter's cheek, and she held her hand, and took Neuro's hand to Yako's.

"Take care of my little girl, Neuro. I know you will," she whispered to the montsuki-clad man, and with that, Haruka left and returned to her seat, next to Seiichi.

The couple glanced at each other for a fleeting moment, and with smiles on their faces, the sound of paper rustling over Yako and Neuro's heads was heard.

The ceremony started, and the music from the wind instruments kept on playing its lulling melody until the priest approached the couple.

The priest had a small table in the front, and he laid out the _sakazuki_, which was a stack of three cups, with the smallest cup on top―and he held out the topmost cup for Neuro to hold. The green-eyed male took the cup in his hands, and two priestesses from each side of the hall went towards the front, and the two of them held out sake encased in tiny, finely-made kettles.

The priestesses slowly yet deftly tilted the kettles back and again for three times, and they finally poured the sake on the cup.

The sound of _shamisen_ was then faintly heard.

Neuro took three sips of the sake, with the last sip draining out the sake from the cup, and he held it back to the priest with a small bow, and the priest handed over the cup to Yako, and she took it in her dainty hands.

And the process repeated itself, with Yako mimicking what Neuro had just done.

And Yako handed the cup back to the priest, who then handed the middle cup to Neuro―

―and this was repeated for two more times, back and forth, back and forth, until the two of them have drunk the sake from the bottommost cup.

The cups represented elements―the topmost being heaven, the middle one being earth, and the bottommost being mankind. It represented that the marriage life would not always be easy, and they would have to overcome challenges along the way as husband and wife.

They have sipped sake three times from the three cups, with the total being nine times―

―and with that, _san-san-kudo_ ended.

The couple bowed to the priestesses and the priest, and the priestesses and the priest bowed in return.

The priestesses went away with the little table containing the cups and the sake, and the priest also went away and took out a cushion that contained the wedding rings (that Neuro painstakingly made).

The priest bowed, and Neuro and Yako also bowed, and the priest gave Neuro the ring to give to Yako.

He gleefully slid it onto her ring finger, and Yako couldn't help but smile.

Yako happily did the same for Neuro―she slid the ring onto his finger, and for a fleeting second, she noticed his warm gaze at her.

Sitting behind them, Haruka and Seiichi nodded.

Neuro and Yako bowed to the priest once more, and the priest bowed in return.

With a stiff nod to the still solemn priest, Neuro took out a folded parchment from the inside of his kimono, and in his deep baritone, he read his marriage vows out loud to her, to which Yako replied with a gleeful nod and a solemn yes.

The priest smiled, truly smiled, for the first time since the ceremony started, and he nodded to the couple and he politely ordered everyone to stand.

The priest congratulated the newlywed couple, and everyone, including the newlyweds, bowed.

The priestesses appeared once more, and Neuro and Yako bowed as the priestesses took out tiny bells attached to long sticks and shook the said bells over the couple's heads and over the Katsuragi couple's heads. And they returned in front of Neuro and Yako and shook the bells beside them, and the priestesses stopped and bowed to the priest.

The priest nodded and smiled, and he bowed to the couple, to which they, along with Haruka and Seiichi standing behind them, bowed in return.

With one final word of congratulations, the ceremony ended.

* * *

><p>It was their first night spending time as a husband and wife alone in a house.<p>

Zera had taken a two-week vacation, as per Neuro's orders just before reception started earlier. It was so that Neuro could spend some "real alone time" with his little slave.

When Haruka and Seiichi have heard of this through a bawling Zera, the Katsuragi couple have blessed Neuro that he should "treat their daughter well and don't overdo it"―it was the last part that Neuro failed to comprehend, though he had an inkling to it when Yako madly blushed.

The moon sat high in the sky, giving melancholic light to those houses that were filled with darkness.

Among those dimly-lit houses was the Nougami household. Bathing the master bedroom in its solemn midnight blue, Neuro's back was perfectly straight as he sat upright. His legs were crossed and his arms were lax by his side as he regarded Yako with an approving air.

She was standing in front of him, donned in her favorite pale blue yukata that she had taken a liking recently. Her face was passive as she bowed―and she gracefully performed the kowtow to him.

The gesture was a rare sight to behold, as she was a modern-day wife, and he, a modern-day husband.

And her efforts to please him proved to be more than enough to make him smile and nod to himself, and she looked at her with a wide, pride-filled smile.

He barely hummed, and he was sure that Yako heard him well, for she slowly stood up, as gracefully as she had done prior, and she graced him with a broad grin and a light giggle.

The pride that befell on Neuro's eyes was evident even in the darkness of the night, and Yako, as she expected, was beckoned by a rude middle finger, and she stepped closer to him.

She saw the familiar flash of those fanged teeth, and a shiver ran down her spine as she was wordlessly yet rudely called once more.

The woman did as she was told, and was not surprised to find herself being suddenly trapped by his long and lean arms.

"She is now mine," she heard him mumble to her chest. It was as though he was trying to assure himself, for what reason, Yako couldn't tell.

"She is now really, really mine..." and he let out a slow, shuddering sigh as he nuzzled his nose to her bosom. And she cradled him close to her chest, kissing the top of his head as she smiled like a mother to her child.

"I have always been Neuro's, and no one else's," she whispered, and she felt his lips touching the underside of her breast through the open side of her yukata, and he burrowed his face there.

"They said there are some marriages that contain no form of consummation," he mumbled after a long while, and his smile remained calm as he sleepily mumbled his words, "and I think that is a feat that is really amazing to achieve. A perfect bond of sorts for the couple and the couple alone."

He felt the rumbling of her giggling through her ribcage, and he was soothed by the steady beat of her heart.

He inhaled her scent, and burned the memory of her scent in his mind.

And Yako's sensitive hearing picked up the words he mumbled to her flesh, tickling her in such a way that she almost let out a laugh―though that bubbling laugh turned into a quiet gasp as realization dawned on what he just barely uttered.

"_Let's make our own family, Yako._"

Wide brown eyes softened in the haze of the midnight blue, and she held onto him tighter as she let out a sigh of great relief.

"Yes, _shujin._"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** "_Shujin_" can mean two ways in Japanese―"master" and "husband". In this case, I made Yako say both "master" and "husband", with regards to how their relationship had developed.


	32. Consummem (Caelestium Inferorum)

**Filum Fatalis**

**Summary:** _Threads have always been used to sew and patch ruined clothes. In the case of one prideful boy and one gluttonous girl, invisible threads have always been sewing them, patching them, drawing and pulling them close together, no matter how much others have tried to put them apart._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **This fanfic is coming to an end. And for that, I thank all my readers and reviewers (and also the ghost readers I've been getting) that helped me get up to this point. :3

There was supposed to be a oneshot for this―about the part where "Musume was conceived", as requested by some of the readers during my submission on 'Dulcis'. And I decided to just put it here instead of making another oneshot―because I get lazy sometimes. XD

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirty-Two: Consummem (Caelestium Inferorum)<strong>

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><p>Birds chirping on the trees. The sun just peeking from the horizon, bathing the land in a calm catalina blue. The scent of the crisp, lazy October morning―<p>

―the clean and fresh scent of a certain man currently lying beside her.

Yako inhaled deeply with a smile, and sleepy, brown eyes slowly opened up.

Flexing her toes to somehow awaken herself, Yako rolled over, and the first thing she saw on her dresser was the little box that used to contain her wedding ring.

A smile bloomed on her face, and she let out a yawn as she rolled over, and she saw Neuro's yukata-clad back turned to her.

Inhaling his scent once more, she draped her arm over him and huddled close to his sleeping form.

"Good morning, piggy."

The sound of his groggy, just-woken voice startled her, and when Neuro rolled over to her side, Yako let out a small giggle.

"You know, we've slept together on the same bed since we were eleven. But this is the first time I felt that something has changed between us."

A small smile painted his face, and he pinched her cheeks as painfully as he could. He wasn't surprised that Yako was not getting teary-eyed anymore. In fact, she sported a huge grin on her face, something that made him think twice about his future tortures on her.

"I feel like nothing changed, really. Though I must say, the thought of being married to you brings me great ideas on how to make you succumb to your knees."

The suggestive remark from his lips and the lustful turn his eyes have become sent warnings to Yako's mind, though she paid it no heed as Neuro successfully took the pause as a chance to tickle her senseless. He knew where her weak spots were, and if he were quick enough―

He nipped on her ear.

―Neuro would see Yako's erotically-flushed face.

"Ah! Neu―!"

He _loved_ seeing her flushed face. Such a lovely shade of red―!

He grinned at her, and he saw realization dawning on her features―she finally picked up the situation they were in.

"Let me shower you with my adoration, little masochist."

Yako quickly glanced at the clock.

It was only six in the morning.

* * *

><p>He had been with her for almost all of their lives. Him watching over her. Her holding onto him.<p>

And today, he was going to make her his completely.

Not that she had never been his. Goodness, no. She had always been his, he told her that too many times to count.

"Louse, I suggest you don't push yourself by trying to bend your neck all the way here. It looks ridiculous enough as it is. Besides, it's not like you can see anything, anyway."

She only grunted a muffled response through her gagged mouth. Those handcuffs had been making her wrists itch. And the collar around her neck was making her saliva hard to swallow.

"Now, now, bread crust. No need to get all flustered about. Like the generous master that I am, I'm giving you the privilege to come when I deem fit."

A furious flail of legs was her response.

"Oh? You don't like my offer? But that's already a luxurious trade!"

She whimpered as she felt drops of searing heat on the back of her thighs.

Candles.

She bent her back.

"Nice colors. I'd say this looks lovely on you, kitten," and another melting tear dripped onto her oiled and rosy thighs.

Her back bent again.

"Oh? You seem to like it!"

A hit to her thigh.

No doubt from that riding crop, she thought.

He hit her again, on her buttocks this time.

The impact of the hit made her moan. And the familiar scent of peppermint invaded her sense of smell.

He leaned over her, his searing breath fanned over her damp locks and her hypersensitive ear.

_Too close, too close_.

She could feel his weight over her, and those long arms of his were shaking.

She idly thought if it was because this would be their first time.

"Heh. You seem to like it a little too much. You _masochistic little whore._"

Hearing those words made her squirm, longing to rub herself on―

She could feel him moving away from her. She whimpered.

"Don't be so impatient, louse."

A cheerful voice. She knew what that meant.

She braced herself, bitty fingers clasping onto the cold metal of her cuffs, and just as she expected, a painful slap was given to her bottom.

So it was his hand this time.

Her body shook every time a slap was given to her poor buttocks.

A total of thirty times, she mentally counted. She was sure that she will have bruises tonight.

He stopped spanking her, and she could feel his nails slowly scratching the expanse of her thighs.

The act made her sigh.

"Hm? What's this? Does my little ragdoll like being scratched? Do you like this?" and he scratched the back of her thighs again with an agonizingly slow pace.

Her toes curled, and she sighed once again, barely nodding in response to his questions.

She felt those hands leaving her abused thighs, and they had been replaced by the feeling of cool liquid trickling on her heated flesh.

_More oil_.

Those hands returned, and she felt those large palms gently kneading her sore lower half. She sighed―

―only to yelp as she felt a finger prodding at her entrance.

"Wet already?"

If she hadn't been restrained, she would have glared at him.

"Hm. I must be that good if I'm able to make you wet like this. My finger got soaked! And your opening is tiny! How will I put myself in?"

Him and his dirty words.

"Oh, well. I can always stretch it."

He went down on her, kneading her plump butt cheeks as he sucked on her dripping entrance.

Her taste had always been the same―bittersweet. And he willingly swallowed everything she had offered. "I like your taste," he mumbled, and even though their bodies were barely illuminated in the room (as he slid the curtains shut once sunlight filtered his room), Neuro could tell she was blushing. In turn, he prodded and slowly curled his middle finger inside her, relishing in the feel of warmth clamping his digit tightly―"Relax," he whispered. And he kissed her inner thigh once, twice, and he suckled playfully on her oiled flesh.

He flattened out his tongue on her slit, and he felt her shudder when he clamped her pearl in between his moist lips and toyed it with his tongue, releasing it with a slick pop afterwards.

He poured more oil on her vulva, and his palm warmed her there.

"I really love how responsive you are when I touch you. I do hope you wouldn't be like this with others."

He slowly slid his thumbs inside, and Yako instinctively tried to push those digits away.

In response, Neuro licked her insides slowly, and he patiently waited for her body to calm down. Once deeming her body relaxed enough, he experimented with his thumbs, both digits rubbing into her entrance. Usually, whenever he would put a bullet vibrator in her, he would let her do it herself, so she wouldn't get embarrassed about putting such a thing inside her.

He would occasionally put his forefinger and middle finger in her, and during those times, he always made sure that she was in the mood―

―but this time―

She shook her bottom, and through hooded lashes, he saw her craning her neck towards him.

She somehow managed to successfully pry her blindfold away from her vision―

―and he saw those dark brown eyes were begging him.

He grinned, and he placed open-mouthed kisses on each of her butt cheeks, all the while, he gently moved his thumbs inside her, trying not to let out a bit of his own drool upon seeing her with such a submissive expression.

He moaned inside her, making sure she would feel the vibrations―enough to make her skin want more and―

A steady stream of water flowed from her, and Neuro drank it greedily. Not one drop was spared.

He licked and suckled on her folds, smiling languidly all the while, and as he inhaled her arousal, he began to pump himself through his yukata.

He felt himself pulsating steadfastly in his own hand.

The tip of his tongue toyed with her pink little pearl, and he felt her shudder with delight.

"You like it, kitten?" And he saw her nod, and those eyes of hers were just pleading him to take her―

―well, she wouldn't have to wait long.

He crawled on top of her, draping her body with his, and he removed her blindfold, smirking when the first thing he saw in her was outright brashness and defiance.

"I see you came when I haven't told you to come," he muttered, amusement and sadism dripping from his voice, and Yako raised her eyebrow at him, silently challenging his authority over her.

He shivered in delight from that glare.

"Oh," he whispered breathlessly, pressing his chest flush to her oiled back. "Challenging me, eh? Heh―I like that. Ah―I like that, indeed."

He kissed her nape, and shakily nipped on her jugular as he ripped her gag from her mouth―

―and he eased himself inside her.

The cry that racked her throat was music to Neuro's ears, and when he reached all the way in, he stopped and whispered sadistic words of comfort to her lips.

He teasingly bit on her lobe, and she sighed. Green eyes glanced at her maddeningly blushing face and glassy eyes, and he couldn't help but thrust into her once.

Yako squeaked, and she felt her breasts being milked and fondled and manhandled, and she licked her lips as he started to thrust slowly inside her.

"Look at me, Yako. Look at me," he breathlessly let out, and when she did, her breath got caught in her throat.

Blond and black locks in complete disarray, its ends looking almost frayed as he moved. Hazy, onyx-jade eyes that pierced her core, as though they were searching for the sole thing that would make her wild and frenzied in his arms. A rose-hued face and neck that looked too sinful for her eyes. Plump and delectable lips that slithered lust-filled words, muttering phrases with his velvety voice that always made her come undone. A dart of that eternally skillful tongue that sent waves of pleasure into her very being. Tantalizing collarbones riddled with love bites that seemed to begged for kisses and pure worship.

Yako bit her lip, and her toes curled from the sight of him looking so damn _delicious_.

A tear slipped from her eye as Neuro made a particularly deep thrust, and a sliver of drool rolled past her lips as she mouthed his name.

His fingers pinched her hardened nubs, and a goofy smile donned her lips as she let out a happy cry.

"You really like being pinched, don't you, little kitten." He grunted out her name, and he leaned away from her and slapped her buttocks harshly, just the way she wanted it.

She keened for more, rubbing her breasts on the mattress as Neuro slammed inside her with no signs of restraining himself.

She realized, as Neuro pulled out and slammed back in, that she liked it―this unhinged version of him in bed.

The little things that usually made him composed crumbled the moment he slipped inside Yako. The feeling of her inner heat roused his well-hidden desire that burned for her ever since they turned teenagers.

And those oiled buttocks of hers were truly looking like the luscious globes of flesh that they were.

He suppressed a shudder as Yako shamelessly pushed back as he pulled out, and she gyrated her hips and teased him by squeezing her inner walls and slowly taking his length inside her.

Neuro watched with morbid fascination as Yako took control of his length, and hungry, green-black eyes stared at those shiny, curvy cheeks quaking and jiggling with each thrust she performed.

He licked away his drool. _Oh_.

He stopped thrusting and admired her completely―simply staring as she did all the work. He watched those hips roll and those buttocks shake and clench with each thrust, and he looked at her slender back that was too finely-shaped, too feminine and petite―it silently drove him wild.

Her face was completely flushed red, all the way down to her shoulders. Whether it was from embarrassment or pleasure (or both), he couldn't really care at the moment. All they both needed was that glorious heat spreading inside their lust-laden forms―

He blindly fumbled on the dresser to find the key that would unlock Yako's restraints, and once free, Yako immediately whipped around and held on to Neuro, breathlessly mouthing out his name as he took control once more.

His pace sped up, and the bed started to rattle from his thrusts, and Yako tried to catch up with his speed, and she stifled a grin whenever he pounded back to that one spot that made her see flashes of white.

He pressed his thumbs to the sides of her hipbones, and he watched her back arching even more with each thrust, and her perky bosom jiggled wantonly as he mercilessly rammed in her with all his might.

And Yako thoroughly _loved_ it―that grin on her face and the drool on her lips told him so.

And who was he to deny his lovingly submissive wife of such pleasure?

He pulled out of her completely, and she let out a banshee whine and a screeching cry. Wanting to feel more of him inside her, she desperately reached out to his still very erect length (a sight that rendered her speechless, as this was the first time she actually saw it), and frustrated tears rolled down her cheeks when Neuro simply inched away from her.

And the needy wail and the hoarse German curse that came out of her lips truly made him smile.

"Put it back―" she begged, her lips becoming chapped as she looked at her husband's amused face. "Please put it back―!"

He pecked her lips and smiled, "You know what to do, little slave." And as though to further tease her, he slapped his length thrice onto her wet entrance, liking the way it made lewd sounds to his ears.

He teased the tip, entering it for a second and pulling it out and sliding it onto her slit, and it was enough to make Yako squirm in need.

She was throbbing with want, and only he could fulfill it.

"Beg for it," he purred, and she stuck out her tongue obediently, knowing fully well what he was about to do.

Putting his index and middle fingers inside her mouth, she instantaneously sucked on them, and he wasted no time in squeezing her little peaks.

He knew she loved that—that little masochist of his.

He gazed, truly gazed, at her and the woman she had become.

Idly, he wondered when she had turned out to be a woman in his eyes. Her body used to be so _thin_ and _flat_ and so _straight_. No curves, no plump flesh, no nothing.

He eyed her pleading form, and he grinned.

Well, he supposed, puberty has its perks.

He first noticed her taking the form of a budding woman when they were in their early teens. It was when Yako started to shy away from him and his innocent advances. She would grasp her hands to her chest whenever he would nudge her, and she would sit hunched on her chair, as though she was ashamed of something.

It was then that Neuro, too innocent of the works of the human body of his age, had noticed that Yako started to wear a strange thing around her bosom. He had accidentally seen it when he was on his way to the bathroom.

The way he looked at her was never the same ever again.

Even so, Yako continued to bloom into a woman he wanted her to be.

And he had secretly studied the human body through the books that he read online—devouring each piece of information with much gusto. And when he understood why she had been like that, he had waited. Ever so patiently, he waited. Waited for her to become aware of their differences in stature and in body and in gender and in physique. He wondered of how a man and a woman should be.

And through her, he knew.

That day when he first kissed her on the rooftop in high school―it was one of the most exhilarating experiences he had ever had. The feeling of her lips was utterly sublime, and she tasted of the mochi she had eaten that day, and it added a unique flavor to his tastes.

He now claimed her lips to his, relishing and reliving the experience of his mouth on hers, and Yako mewled and whined and outright _begged_ to be taken once more.

"Please put it back, _Master._"

Ah. There it was―the words he had been longing to hear.

His lips quivered against hers, stifling a shuddering breath as he smiled at her, and he slowly put his member back inside of her―

―and the almost _grateful_ sigh he heard from her was _divine_.

They kissed, and he matched the pace of his thrusts to the dance of their mouths and tongues.

Yako hesitated, and she broke their sloppy kiss, and she noisily licked his chin as Neuro hit a spot that made her gasp out his name.

Again and again, he slammed into her, thrust by agonizing thrust. And Yako breathlessly mouthed for more.

She felt his hands encircling her waist and back, and he grunted as gyrating hips met up with his thrusts.

So delicious, they screamed in their heads.

Her newly-trimmed nails met the lean flesh of his back, and she hissed as he slapped her butt cheek.

Canines sucked on supple skin, limbs entwined around their heated bodies as they created a perfect rhythm for their selves.

Like a bow, her back bended to her limit. She put her lithe arms above her head, and she placed her tiny hands on the damp mattress beneath her body, and with one deep thrust from him, her mind swirled and her mouth let out a bit of spittle once more.

His mouth watered and he panted at the sight of her perky, bouncing breasts. A hiss escaped his lips as she purposely shook her hips, effectively clamping his throbbing muscle inside her thoroughly wet walls.

Unable to restrain himself, he embraced her tight, relishing the way her tender bosom was encased to his chest.

He kneaded her thighs and grabbed handfuls of her pert bum, and a cry elicited from Yako's kiss-reddened lips.

They moved as one—heated, sweaty bodies rising and falling on the white sheets, and a shadow was casted behind the glow of the flickering candles on the nightstand, creating a dramatic yet suggestive display on the orange-dyed walls.

The sound of slick kisses was heard, along with the wanton slapping of skin against skin.

He lightly prodded her aching and throbbing pink pearl, nudging it and pressing it with his thumb―and the slightly sticky feeling on his fingertips only made him want more of her.

Yako's breath hitched when he prodded and penetrated too hard, and her body shook as her abdominal muscles clenched.

Neuro felt it―the spasms of her body and the sudden erratic beating of her hammering heart.

He closed his eyes and took in her musky scent.

Such is the wonder of the human body, Neuro mused.

And with a quick tug on her nipple, and with a soft nibble on his earlobe―

―they came with a hitched gasp and a long sigh, and their spent bodies collapsed on the bed.

It was a long time before they recovered from their euphoric high, both of them too intoxicated and content to just entangle in each other's arms and feel each other's heartbeat.

Yako idly smoothed out Neuro's wild locks of black and blond, and in the bask of her bliss-filled countenance, she yawned. And Neuro wasted no time in kissing her mid-yawn.

She opened her still foggy and unfocused eyes, and that tell-tale smile of satisfaction was evident on her visage.

"Don't pull it out yet," she whispered almost inaudibly, as though there was an unseen spectator from afar. Yet Neuro knew that she was only speaking as such because she was too tired to speak.

As he expected, her glassy eyes started to wane, and her eyelids started to droop, and even if her lashes slowly kissed, that satisfied ghost of a smile remained on her lips, and she soundlessly slept.

All the while, Neuro observed her and her sated state―imprinting in his mind's eye the expression that she was unknowingly presenting him. He watched and felt her palpitating heart evening down to its normal calm, and he felt the clenching and pulsating of her inner walls slowly loosening around his length, and he easily pulled away. The sounds of obscene squelching were heard, and Neuro smirked upon hearing the welcomed noise.

He kissed her brow once, and her nose twice, and he whispered silent words of love to her―uncharacteristic of him as it was―knowing fully well that his words would fall on unhearing ears.

Her mouth hung slightly open, that contented smile now gone, it being replaced by an expression that held a complete state of calmness.

He lied down beside her, the feeling of fatigue now taking over his whole body.

Emerald eyes caught sight of the blinking lights of the clock, and a cocky grin crept on his face.

It was now exactly noon.

They had been in and on each other's bodies since six in the morning.

He looked at Yako's bare and sleeping form, and he licked his lips.

_Guess we're going to skip lunch for today._

* * *

><p>Three days.<p>

It had been three days since his proclamation of "adoration" for Yako.

He had yet to stop―or slow down, rather―from his acts of love for her.

They were currently in the kitchen, both of them looking quite indecent and messy―with a denim-clad Neuro bending over a Victorian shirt-clad Yako on the countertop, anyone with a clear eyesight could see them copulating through the glass windows. It was a good thing that the curtains were providing a decent amount of coverage from accidental peering eyes and from the sunlight outside, but still―

"Neuro―the batter is going to fall―"

"Let it fall. _Hn_―still so damn _tight_―!"

The clanging of stainless steel rang loud in the kitchen, but neither of the two occupants paid heed, as they were too busy with their own sticky mess.

Somewhere along the line of their love-filled kisses and too-passionate love-making, they almost failed to hear the shrill sound of the doorbell ringing off the walls.

It was Neuro who realized it first, and he cursed as he sloppily pulled out of her. The sentiment was shared by a whining Yako, who instantly growled and glared at the direction of the front door.

He wordlessly stood straight and somehow made a half-hearted attempt to make himself presentable as he went to the door, and Yako winced as she got off the countertop to rearrange the fallen cooking utensils.

Neuro zipped up his pants as soon as he opened the door, and there, standing by the doorway was a delivery man.

"Delivery for a... Nougami Neuro-_san?_"

Neuro glanced at the rather heavy box in the man's arms, and recognition suddenly sparked in his eyes. "Ah, yes. That's me. Is it from the photo shoot?"

The man nodded and smiled as he handed Neuro a form to sign. Apparently, he was looking quite unfazed by the sight of the mop-haired and scruffy-looking Neuro. "Yes, sir. From Okazaki. If you would, just sign here," and upon seeing the intricate rings that Neuro wore, he smiled. "Newly-wedded, I assume?"

Neuro smiled sheepishly and quickly signed on the form, and he handed it back to the man. In his most innocent tone, he chirped, "Why, yes I am."

The delivery man tipped his hat and bowed slightly, "Marriage is sweet during the first three years, sir. After that, it's up to the couple to make it even sweeter and not let it turn bitter."

Neuro blinked, unsure of what to say.

And the man awkwardly laughed as he stepped away, "Oh, I apologize, sir. It's just my hobby to give advice on newlyweds. I had a failed marriage, you see―and I don't want others to experience what I went through. I hope everything will turn out fine between you and your wife. Good day, sir."

With that, the odd delivery man bowed and left to ride back on the truck that surely held other packages to deliver.

Neuro briefly pondered over the strange man's words, and he shrugged.

Just outside his house, he saw an elderly couple slowly pass by, and a small smile crept to his lips.

"Yako and I will surely have problems on our way, but it doesn't mean I'll let my marriage to her turn into ash."

He closed the door and returned to his wife, who was now perfectly decent-looking in her rumpled shirt and not looking like the hot mess that she was earlier.

The scent of fresh herbs wafted through his nose, and a grin crept on his face.

"It's pesto lasagna for tonight?"

"Why, yes it is. Your sense of smell in food is getting better. Was that the package from the photo shoot?"

"Heh. I guess I could blame you for that. And yes, that was the album. I guess we could look at it later."

An exchange of lighthearted banter occurred between them, and both of them became immersed in preparing dinner, often asking the other about the other dishes they would make.

Yako washed the dishes as Neuro finished preparing the icing for the mango cake. She pondered over the things they would do for the rest of the week, and she realized something. "Neuro, some of your books are still in the house. We should get them before the week ends," she suggested, and when she turned to look at him, she giggled on how concentrated he looked upon putting the icing on the cake―with a bit of his tongue stuck out, and his brows slightly creased.

_Very much like an enthusiastic child_.

She let him be, and all the while, she thought of the tasks they were to do. Rearranging the master bedroom and the bathroom were on her "top priorities" list, though there wasn't really any need for further rearrangement, as some of her things have managed to end up with Neuro's belongings over the years.

_Besides, I highly doubt he would be surprised to see my feminine products_.

"...there. Done. Ah, Slave. You were saying?"

Yako hummed, and her brows shot up, "Ah, I was thinking of the books left in my parents' house. Most of the books in my room are yours, right? We should―"

She was cut off with a flippant wave and a carefree smile, "Moldy, I purposely left them there―so I would have enough reason to come back whenever I please. Besides, memories are held dear by your mother. I doubt she would argue if we left my books there. Father could use them, if he wants to. Ah, but I did take all of the white puzzles―I wouldn't leave them there."

* * *

><p>Haruka and Seiichi sat on the dining table, both of them looking forlorn as they stared at the food in front of them.<p>

"You know, it's only until now I realized that our daughter is married―I still couldn't believe it." Seiichi's lips scrunched and nodded as though to assure himself of something, and Haruka shed a tear as she picked on her food.

"It's only been a few days since she got married and yet..." Haruka trailed off, not wanting to get too emotional about her daughter.

Miwako, who was preparing food for tomorrow's breakfast, discreetly wiped a tear. "Neuro-_kun_ and Yako-_chan_ truly have grown, haven't they? I can still remember the day when I first saw them together―it was as if they have known each other all their lives. They even finish each other's sentences!"

Seiichi laughed at the memory, "Why, yes, I remember that! Yako would start the sentence and Neuro would finish it. Haha―such a fitting pair, they are!"

Haruka giggled as she sipped on her tea, "And the two of them would always sleep on the same bed... At first I thought something… inappropriate might happen between them, but nothing of the sort ever happened. And that's a relief."

* * *

><p>"—gyahaha! And then, when they turned 16, that cocky bastard kissed her!" Yukinori guffawed as he gulped down another round of beer, and Hisanori nodded to himself as he muttered something intelligible.<p>

"May I ask how you managed to get such private information?" the elder Hayasaka asked, smiling as he swished the glass of scotch in his hands. He eyed his brother carefully with an amused look, noting how, in the recent years, Yukinori had developed into a fine, able-bodied man that was sure to be the envy of men and the impure fantasy of women. In hindsight, Hisanori was glad that Kanae always kept his younger brother in line.

"Mucchan told me before, when we were still in high school. She has a knack for anything that involves those two, ya see (even now). One could say Mucchan's an obsessive stalker slash overboard fan of the Neuron and his Kitten... It's... what the student body of our time considered them as, ya see."

Hisanori chuckled, and he leaned back on his couch. It was a rare occurrence that he would get to spend time with his brother in the Hayasaka residence, and he missed getting all of the juicy bits of information.

Hisanori never knew that his (still) best student had been called such a title. "The Neuron, eh. I didn't know that. All I know was that Nougami-_kun_ is considered somewhat a god in campus, and Katsura—no—Nougami-_chan_ was considered Nougami-_kun_'s 'personal property'. Am I right? Is that why she's considered a kitten?"

Yukinori toyed with his fringe, a lopsided smirk playing upon his lips as he looked at his brother with the eyes of someone who had been keeping a tempting secret dying to be let out.

"You could say that. Ya see, _aniki_, Yacchan—according to what I've heard from Nougami's yappy caretaker—is Nougami Neuro's all-too-willing slave in the bedroom. The Neuro we saw on campus—his ice-cold composure on anyone that _isn't_ Yacchan—is just the tip of the iceberg."

* * *

><p>Miwako cheered up the Katsuragi couple with her cooking. "Why, come now, Master, Mistress. Neuro-<em>kun<em> would never touch Yako-_chan_ in any indecent way! Just looking at how he takes care of her when we're not here—it's as if he's treating her like a queen!"

* * *

><p>"Why, Yuu-<em>san!<em> This color would be too much. I'd say purple would be just fine. In fact, why don't we ask Yako-_san_ about this. She knows more than us."

"You know, Aya. Ka—uh—Nougami. Uh... Yeah. Nougami and she had a _traditional_ ceremony, right? Where the colors are black and white and red and all. Also, Green Eyes did say that he hated the aspect of making his wedding a Western one—since he hates his Western roots. Though I think the real reason why he convinced her to have a traditional one is because... well..."

Aya flipped her hair, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Neuro-_san_ can take off her wedding kimono easier than if she had worn a wedding gown. I always had a feeling he had been holding back his lust for her. I couldn't really say if they haven't done anything remotely sexually-related during the course of their high school days, though."

* * *

><p>Haruka stood up and smiled at Miwako, and she helped her wash the dishes.<p>

"And my dear daughter would never do such a thing before their marriage. They promised me before. Plus, someone as kind and considerate and gentlemanly as Neuro would never dare harm anyone, let alone my daughter. Why, with a face like his, I bet he couldn't even harm a fly!"

* * *

><p>Eishi inspected the current status of the sole Indian prisoner that they have.<p>

"Hey, Vijaya. You still up?" he asked through the cold bars of steel. Vijaya nodded at the man's question.

"I'm still up, Officer. I withstood Nougami's painful number on me before. Just—please don't make him force me to drink five liters of tabasco and wasabi and salt tea again. I'd rather have this flu than undergo his torture again. Please do send my regards to him, though. I haven't got the time to write them a reply on their wedding invitation."

* * *

><p>Seiichi yawned and popped his shoulders, and he clamped his lips as he made his way to his wife, and he kissed her on the cheek.<p>

"I bet he doesn't even know what a woman's undergarments are like. He's always too immersed in reading books about law and crime to care about female apparel. The poor thing—I hope he's not having a hard time with undoing Yako's—"

Haruka gasped, "Why, Dear! Don't say such embarrassing things! Neuro is an unsoiled man who hasn't seen anything of the female intimate apparel!"

* * *

><p>Mutsuki stifled a giggle as Kanae told her about the time that she hanged out with Neuro and Yako.<p>

The two females were in a coffee shop, and Shinobu, being the faithful partner that he was to Mutsuki, was having a hard time to decide which type of cake he should order at the counter.

"—and then, Nougami-_san_ bought her a box of edible undies! Can you believe it? Aomi-_san_ told me those two have been performing foreplay since he discovered Yako's underwear in her room! It's risqué, I tell ya. But I'm amazed at how those two managed to keep it a secret to her parents after all these years..."

* * *

><p>Haruka sneezed as she put back the cups to their proper places.<p>

"Oh, Mistress? Do you have a cold?" Miwako asked, and she hurriedly made her a glass of orange juice.

Haruka shook her head and smiled, "No, I'm fine. Maybe it's just the weather. It's getting rather cold."

Seiichi shivered as a sudden chill went down his spine. "Better go and sit around the _kotatsu_, then."

* * *

><p>Ten months had passed since the day that Yako permanently moved in the Nougami residence. Furniture had been rearranged to accommodate the additional member of the house. An additional fridge had been added to the kitchen. Two more bookshelves had been bought for Yako's books of various languages. More clothing space had been made in Neuro's spacious cabinet, all of it done just to fit half of Yako's wardrobe; the other half of her wardrobe took up too much space, and had to be put back in her duffel bags.<p>

An additional drawer had been bought for her undergarments―something that Neuro really mind buying at all. And on top of that drawer were two framed pictures―one that had her and Neuro on their wedding day, and another picture that was taken outside the Okazaki shrine, which was one the day of their wedding ceremony.

Neuro always made sure that the frames and the glass on those pictures were squeaky clean, as he had once said to Yako that even a speck of dust should never float on the frames, so their marriage would always remain faithful and chaste.

For Yako, it was Neuro's unspoken way of telling her that he would do everything in his power to keep their marriage sanctified.

Yako had bought a chair space-saver for Neuro―a chair that doubled as a storage box, somewhere to put his precious white puzzles and sudoku books in.

Neuro very much appreciated the sentiment, and had reciprocated the gesture by rudely stuffing her inside the rather large chair-slash-box along with the white puzzles and sudoku books.

Some things never really change, Yako had thought dryly.

And now, looking at the not-so-subtle changes in the Nougami house, it made Yako think if Neuro's house had always been lonely.

_Only Aomi-san stays here most of the time. Neuro usually comes to his own house rarely. I can't imagine how Aomi-san managed to live here with all the silence_.

Brown eyes glanced at the aforementioned Nougami caretaker, who was now chopping up cloves of garlic and chives.

Yako opted to strike up a conversation with the humming Zera, but the booming of Neuro's voice from the living room shook her from her thoughts.

"Amoeba, get in here!"

Yako sighed and wearily looked at Zera.

(S)he shrugged at the sighing woman, and Zera smiled without the showy display of teeth. "Yako-_sama_, I'll take it from here," and the caretaker took the tomato from her hands and resumed humming as calloused hands grasped the sharp knife and diced the tomatoes in mere seconds.

Yako giggled and nodded, and she smiled at the gleeful transvestite. "Sorry, Aomi-_san_. I'll make it up to you later," and she went away with a little bow.

"The obstetrician called," he gleefully cooed as Yako appeared on the doorway, "she said we should be there tomorrow for your checkup."

Yako's eyes widened in astonishment, and she grinned broadly as she almost jumped in joy. "Oh. Oh! What time?"

An amused grin crossed his lips as regarded Yako's cheerful stance, "Eight. It's a Saturday tomorrow, so we're both free and―"

He was suddenly cut off by Yako, who promptly tackled him mid-sentence, and she nuzzled him as she laughed joyfully.

"We'll go, we'll go!"

Neuro couldn't help but be charmed by her actions, and he loosely held her against his arms, kissing the top of her head as he did so. "Such enthusiasm, I see. But please do try not to jump on me," he chuckled, and he tapped her nose with a smile, "it's not just you anymore."

Yako laughed, and she hugged him tight, "Should I blame you, I wonder..." It was a light joke, and Neuro chuckled at her words.

"You're to blame to, you know. Really," he revered the gasp that he heard from her lips as he inched to her mouth, "taking in all of me and not wanting me to pull out immediately―such a greedy little thing you are. _And we did it every day and every night and every chance we could get―for a whole month._"

She shuddered in his feather-light touch, and she muttered a response. "D-don't forget that one time in your office―Usui-_san_ and Todoroki-_san_ almost caught us on the desk."

"Heh. And don't forget that one time when the voyeur almost saw us near the coffee dispenser―"

"You had me up the wall with my skirt bunched up to my waist and―"

"_And I was ramming you senseless._" He purposefully hissed in her ear, "I waited until I could hear you squeak. But you did a pretty good job in keeping quiet. _Ah_, but I remember me slipping my finger inside you and you promptly made a complete _mess_ on my pants―"

Yako shivered at the way he just said his words. Such lust-filled tones―!

"Neuro-_sama_, Yako-_sama_. Dinner's ready!" Zera suddenly called out, knocking Neuro and Yako out of their erotic stupor.

The caretaker found them lying on the couch, their limbs entwining around one another and their lips almost touching―

―and a throw pillow was tossed to Zera's face.

Neuro's brows twitched at the sudden and unwelcomed intrusion, "Do try to read the atmosphere next time, you oblivious green pus."

Yako merely sighed.

* * *

><p>"―I wonder what we should name her..." Yako mumbled as she lightly rubbed her belly. It had been two months since they found out that the little life forming inside Yako was a girl.<p>

She was now five months pregnant.

Neuro hummed, smiling that gentle and secretive smile of his, and he went over to her and knelt in front of her. He leaned his ear close to her belly, trying to find if he could hear the thumping of a little heart.

Amongst the sounds of nature from outside fluttering by his ears, he focused his senses on that faint sound that lightly tickled his ears, and he closed his eyes and basked in her body heat, and surely, there was the sound of a _thump, thump_ inside her. A sound not of Yako's heart.

"...I can hear it," he whispered. And Yako smiled as she caressed his hair and rubbed small circles on his shoulder. She silently observed how calm he looked at this moment; it was the calmest he had been since recently, when cases in _Keishichou_ piled up during their honeymoon in the beach.

They were now in Berlin, living the lives of a couple temporarily staying under another certain couple's mansion.

Everything went by in a blur since the day that Neuro's parents called for one last time―the green-eyed man had snapped that day, and his parents, for the sake of seeing their only son, promptly offered them a free-expense trip to the Republic of Germany.

Zera had received a great deal of lecture and insults from Neuro that day, saying that the caretaker shouldn't have talked to his parents about the status in Neuro's current life. Zera truly didn't mention anything to them, really. And it remained a mystery as to who had been the person that contacted Neuro's parents on his wedding day.

Yako, on the other hand, had opted to remain silent through it all, and she decided that whatever conclusion Neuro would come to would also be Yako's conclusion―as she fully respected him as her husband.

Large brown eyes glanced at the window, and she saw the serene and peaceful landscape of Berlin.

The Nougami mansion in Berlin was located in the outskirts, where meadows and sparkling lakes and soaring oak trees was the usual sights the eye could see.

It was springtime in Germany, where everything was cool and the weather was—

"—I hate this weather. I hate this room. I hate this house's location. I hate this house. I hate everything in here. I hate the spaciousness. I want to go back to Japan now and read my books and bury my feet under the _kotatsu_ and—"

Yako sighed and listened on to her currently ranting husband. Long gone was Neuro's profound enthusiasm for his still developing child; it was replaced by the eternally deep-rooted hatred for anything and everything that involved his early years in the mansion they were staying in.

He and Yako have been staying for two days now.

And Neuro had yet to see his parents, and Yako, as brave as she was whenever it came to Neuro's random whims, secretly hoped that his parents would like her, and she hoped that they would try not to pick at all the bitter wounds that Neuro tried to bury within him.

"Hush. Come now, Neuro," she lightly reprimanded, patting his head as she did so, "the baby will hear you saying such things. It's not a wise thing to say." She smiled at her slightly swollen belly, rubbing it gently, "Daughter, please don't mind your father saying such things. He just had a bad day, you see." And she breathed in deeply, and for a moment, she felt her stomach moving and contracting, and Neuro—being the silent spectator that he was—was amazed at what he just saw.

As though approaching a newfound animal, Neuro's eyes were large and wide like a child's, and his fingers trembled upon hovering them on her belly.

"You can touch it, silly," she cooed, giggling upon seeing his truly innocent face.

He blinked, as though he got out of a trance, and he carefully placed his hand on her stomach and—there!

A small movement from within her was felt through his shaky fingertips, and he immediately jolted his hand away.

"Your stomach is acting weird," he said, glaring at her belly as though it was the most unfathomable thing he had ever seen.

"The baby is moving," she replied, and her eyes were half-lidded with calmness as she took his hand in her own, and placed them on her belly once more. And she smiled upon feeling it move again, "I think she's trying to say hi." She giggled, and observed his highly-amusing reactions to her body's changes, and a tune of a folksong trilled through her humming lips as Neuro placed his ear on her stomach, and he loosely embraced her.

"Hello, too, little daughter," he whispered, and a proud smile was etched on his lips as Yako rubbed his back.

Slowly, the stuffy room of ornate furnishings and posh décor that once belonged to a then three-year-old Neuro finally seemed to slip his attention, as the warmth of Yako's body and the sound of that tiny heartbeat stole his current trail of troubled thoughts away.

A soft knock startled the young couple, and a blonde woman appeared by the doorway. She was smiling as she crossed the room with her arms outstretched.

Neuro inwardly bristled.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, my son."

* * *

><p>And sorry to keep you waiting, readers. =w=<p> 


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